Hours before France's top judges breathed new life into his widely denounced plans to make people work longer for their state pensions, President Emmanuel Macron was his usual defiant self.
"Never give up, that's my motto," he said, as he visited Notre-Dame on the anniversary of the fire that almost consigned the country's most celebrated cathedral to history.
Macron's challenge will lie in soothing widespread anger not only at his pension overhaul but also at a perceived disdain for democratic institutions after, lacking a majority in parliament, heOne government source familiar with the executive's thinking said the president had set his course: measures to improve daily lives, including health and education provision, and a "full-employment law" designed to accelerate a drop in unemployment to 5%.
Helping Macron's cause, turnout in nationwide protests has fallen in recent weeks. "Even in France, strikes don't last forever," a government official said.Protesters hold placards depicting French President Emmanuel Macron during a demonstration as part of the 12th day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform, in Paris, France, April 13, 2023.
He also reiterated a campaign promise to make people on income support work 15 to 20 hours a week to maintain their welfare payments. Such a measure would likely be popular with right-wing voters but risk angering the left. "There are gaping wounds in the country," LR lawmaker Aurélien Pradié, who rebelled against the pro-pension reform party line on the reform, said on Twitter. "You'd have to be blind or irresponsible not to see the reality."
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