PARIS — Emmanuel Macron vowed to stand by his controversial pension reform plan despite more than three weeks of strikes.
“I commit before you tonight to devoting all my energy to transforming our country to make it stronger, more just, more human,” the French president said in his New Year address, televised on Tuesday night. “This is why the pension reform that I committed to before you and that is being proposed by the government will be fully carried out.”
Macron attempted to strike a conciliatory but firm tone. He explicitly acknowledged the concerns that some harbor about the plan and called for a compromise to be found. But also declared he would not shy away from tough reforms in the run-up to elections, as previous French leaders have done.
“Usually, it is at this point in a mandate that one renounces acting vigorously, to avoid displeasing more people ahead of upcoming elections,” Macron said. “We do not have the right to give in to this fatalism. The opposite must happen.”
Local elections are due to take place in March, and Macron himself is now more than half-way through his first five-year term.
The government says its proposed pension reform aims to streamline the current system and make it more fiscally sustainable. Under the plan, the current complex set-up of more than 40 industry-specific, state-funded pension programs, would be replaced by a universal scheme based on a points system. Every French person would have their own pension “account” that could transfer from job to job.
“It is a project of justice and social progress … because it ensures universality … it translates into more equity… it aims to guarantee the [fiscal] equilibrium of the system,” Macron said, defending the plan.
But he also called on the government to find a “quick compromise” with trade unions. Strikes, mainly by national rail workers and Paris subway employees, have been going on for 27 days, and look set to continue well into January.
Some trade unions are calling for action blocking oil refineries between January 7 and 10, as an additional pressure measure while they negotiate with the government. They are expected to meet with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on January 7 to try to reach a compromise.
Deals granting exceptions to pensions in some sectors have already been struck with police, air stewards, pilots, medical personnel, truck drivers and teachers, raising questions about whether the new universal system will end up with as many exceptions as there were separate plans in the old system.
Macron also attempted to strike a balance between standing firmly behind a reform that was a central part of his 2017 presidential campaign and attempting to appease and reassure the French.
“I hear, on this very important issue that goes to the heart of French identity, the fears and anxieties that are coming to light,” Macron said. “Appeasement must always trump confrontation [but] appeasing does not mean renouncing.”
Other than calling for a truce over Christmas, Macron had stayed silent on the reforms since Philippe announced the details of the plan on December 11.
This is the not the first time Macron has had to deliver his New Year wishes in the midst of social unrest. A year ago, he spoke at the height of the Yellow Jackets protest movement that brought violence to Paris.
Beyond keeping his own campaign promise, Macron has broader political reasons for standing by the pension reform plan. His credibility in demanding major reforms to the European Union would be undermined if he failed to implement changes at home. And the president is also trying to woo right-wing voters ahead of the municipal elections.