three weeks of uncertainty before the arbitration of Emmanuel Macron

by time news

At the beginning of September, the pension reform that ignited the presidential campaign seems almost forgotten. Almost. Seated at the Club Marigny, a chic café a stone’s throw from the Elysée, Thierry Solère, political adviser to the Head of State, meets Jean-Louis Borloo. “We have a window there. We can go there! »he launches to the former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy, who transmitted to Emmanuel Macron shortly before his re-election his titled essay The alarmas an injunction to unblock the country. “The pensions: it will fall like a Japanese plane, like that! »predicts the Elysian adviser, without imagining the turbulence to come.

Since July and his narrow victory in the legislative elections, Emmanuel Macron has imagined reforming pensions by diluting the postponement of the legal age in the Social Security financing bills (PLFSS). Discreetly and in small steps, pushing back the starting age by four months each year. The best way to swallow the pill, persuades the President of the Republic. The few taken into the confidence in the heart of summer strive to dissuade him. Too risky. Too rough. Hadn’t Jupiter bowed out to make way for Vulcan, god of the forge according to the words of the Elysée?

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Pension reform: the long journey of Emmanuel Macron

And suddenly the” plane ” tumbles on September 12, directly from the Elysée. In front of a hundred journalists from the Presidential Press Association, the Head of State confides off the microphone and off camera, but accepts that his thoughts be transcribed. Enough to ensure that the messages he wants to convey are, “with discipline”, would like a close adviser. The pension reform reappears. But it’s not about ” discuss ” to avoid reform “overnight”, as Emmanuel Macron had promised last April. He wants, this time, ” go fast “why not next month.

The bomb is dropped. And falls on the knees of the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne. Accustomed to negotiations with the unions, the former Minister of Labor is losing her colors. She calls Laurent Berger, boss of the CFDT, and quickly understands that a hasty reform will grill any subsequent dialogue. The former prefect fears for the majority. And for its future. “Elisabeth Borne is not a candidate for suicide”, slips Francois Bayrou. During the consultations, the 50-year-old notes the virulence of Marine Le Pen, leader of the deputies of the National Rally, and notes the dissensions between the Republicans of the Senate and the Assembly, but tries to keep the cenacle of discussions open… until to September 17.

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