Arthur de Laborde, edited by Yanis Darras
modified to
8:15 a.m., January 29, 2023
While opposition to pension reform within the political landscape but also within the population remains strong, the Prime Minister is stepping up to defend her bill. The head of government denounces “false information”, and calls on the majority to avoid controversy.
The pension reform never ceases to be talked about. While the text of the government begins its examination in Parliament on Monday, a new day of mobilization of the unions is preparing. This will take place on Tuesday, January 31. Among the contested measures: the postponement of the legal retirement age, which goes from 62 to 64 years.
“It’s the exact opposite”
But faced with attacks from the opposition and the unions, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is rolling up her sleeves and intends to lead the battle of public opinion. The head of government assumes a new, more offensive axis of communication, during a trip this Saturday to Calvados, and does not hesitate to reframe the opposition but also the majority, on what she describes as false information peddled on the pension reform.
“I hear a lot of false information. For example, I hear that apprentices before 2014 cannot benefit from the trimesters they acquired as part of their apprenticeship. I hear that the reform would penalize women who have chopped careers. It’s exactly the opposite,” she said in an interview on BFMTV.
Call to come together
But by citing this second example, Elisabeth Borne addresses a barely veiled tackle to the Minister of Relations with Parliament. Franck Riester said a few days ago that women were in his eyes, “a little penalized” by the postponement of the retirement age.
This public reframing of Elisabeth Borne also sounds like a message addressed to the whole of the presidential camp to call on it to unite and avoid any controversy in these decisive hours for the reform.