Jacques Serais, edited by Alexandre Dalifard / Photo credit: LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL / AFP
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8:06 p.m., May 14, 2023
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of L’Opinion, Emmanuel Macron gave an interview to the newspaper, broadcast online this Sunday evening. During this interview, the Head of State expressed some regrets about the battle for pensions but he confirmed that the reform will indeed come into effect in a few months.
After the interview with Elisabeth Borne granted to the JDD, it is the president’s turn to speak in L’Opinion on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the newspaper. During this interview, published online this Sunday, the Head of State expressed some regrets about the battle for pensions but he confirmed that the reform will come into effect in a few months.
“We must implement the reform”
While the unions will be received at Matignon on Tuesday and Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron is categorical. “We must implement the reform”, he maintains, even if he admits that the work of conviction must be maintained. “If I have one regret, it’s that we have not succeeded in explaining sufficiently the need for this reform”, explains the president, who strives in this interview to quote the Republicans. “What was the problem with the pension reform?” he asks. For him, the problem was not in the majority in government, it was all the same a certain denial of reality, a certain sense of irresponsibility.
More generally, the Head of State believes that “we cannot allow society to become disaffected with work”. “I do not share the opinion of those who claim that, at 64, it’s two years of life sacrificed. No, work is what allows you to build a future for yourself, for your children”, loose he. And Emmanuel Macron relies on his election last year to justify his action in 2022. “I’m not saying that the French voted precisely for pension reform, but I was nonetheless very explicit” , he continues. Finally, the president announces the reduction of taxation on the middle classes, those who are too rich to be helped and not rich enough to live well.