A few hours before a presidential address which should allow Emmanuel Macron to turn the page on pensions, Laurent Berger has drawn up a vitriolic assessment of the sequence. “He missed the meeting with the world of work”, he scolded on France 2 Monday morning, denouncing the “contempt” of the head of state which caused “resentment”. The expectations “of workers” related to “the post-pandemic world of work”, regretted the secretary general of the CFDT, “and this is not what has been done”.
The government is precisely considering presenting a new law on work and full employment to renew dialogue with the unions after three months of social crisis. Hammering the principle of a “decency period” before resuming discussions with the government, Laurent Berger confirmed that the CFDT will accept invitations to exchange after May 1. “The CFDT will continue to work for the workers, to defend them”, he explained, before concluding, disillusioned: “To make believe that we could make the president go back, that would be lying to people” .
Beyond this labor law, Laurent Berger is asking the President of the Republic for another method. “What we are asking of him is to preside and govern other than by this verticality”, launched the union leader in anticipation of Emmanuel Macron’s speech. Laurent Berger also felt that “the right way out” of the pension crisis could be “a citizen debate”, adding that the validation of the initiative referendum shared by the Constitutional Council on May 3 could allow such a debate to stand.
The secretary general of the CFDT regretted the wording of his call to “break the house” on May 1, after the controversy he aroused over the weekend. “There is nothing aggressive or violent about it. It is one more trial”, he however denounced. Laurent Berger also criticized his inter-union partners for a “lack of collective rigor” after the CGT called for new days of interprofessional mobilization before May 1. “There are no cracks in the inter-union”, but “I would like us to stick to our common press release”, he declared.
