France endures second day of mass pension protests as Macron government approaches 'moment of truth'

But given the reform’s technical nature, public response has been lukewarm while hardline unions claim they have been kept in the dark. Xavier Bertrand, Right-wing head of the Hauts-de-France region, blasted the government’s “catastrophic method” as a “case study in amateurism”. The Macron administration had, he said, further muddied the waters with last-minute proposals, such as raising the de facto retirement age from 62 to 64 to plug a deficit or only applying the changes to new contributors. “He has succeeded in frightening 30 million working people,” he told Le Parisien. His claim appears backed by polls, with one on Sunday suggesting 76 per cent of the French back pension reform but 64 per cent don't trust the Macron government to do it.  The same IFOP poll suggested that 59 per cent of the French blame the government more than strikers for the chaos, saying it should have spelled the details of the reform out earlier. Even four top economists who advised Mr Macron during his presidential campaign confessed that the debate over the pension shake-up had “got off to a bad start”. “If the reform is unfair and creates anxiety, delays won’t resolve anything. If, as we believe, it is socially fair and economically efficient, why delay?,” they asked.

But given the reform’s technical nature, public response has been lukewarm while hardline unions claim they have been kept in the dark. Xavier Bertrand, Right-wing head of the Hauts-de-France region, blasted the government’s “catastrophic method” as a “case study in amateurism”. The Macron administration had, he said, further muddied the waters with last-minute proposals, such as raising the de facto retirement age from 62 to 64 to plug a deficit or only applying the changes to new contributors. “He has succeeded in frightening 30 million working people,” he told Le Parisien. His claim appears backed by polls, with one on Sunday suggesting 76 per cent of the French back pension reform but 64 per cent don't trust the Macron government to do it.  The same IFOP poll suggested that 59 per cent of the French blame the government more than strikers for the chaos, saying it should have spelled the details of the reform out earlier. Even four top economists who advised Mr Macron during his presidential campaign confessed that the debate over the pension shake-up had “got off to a bad start”. “If the reform is unfair and creates anxiety, delays won’t resolve anything. If, as we believe, it is socially fair and economically efficient, why delay?,” they asked.