The CGT also slams the door on a "conclave" of suspended pensions

"The Prime Minister and the employers' federation have unfortunately definitively buried this conclave. And this is very serious because the Prime Minister had promised that these discussions would be 'without totems or taboos,'" the CGT union leader justified after the vote by her bodies.

Consequently, "the CGT decided this evening to leave these consultations and call on employees to mobilize" by joining the retirees' marches planned for Thursday.

After raising great hopes among the unions by giving them the opportunity, for the first time in over two years, to renegotiate the much-maligned pension reform that raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 in 2023, François Bayrou disappointed both the left-wing opposition and the unions.

His statements on Sunday closing the door on the return of the 62-year-old, reiterated on Tuesday and Wednesday before Parliament, have provoked the ire of the trade unions, who have refused to accept them.

Speaking before the Senate, François Bayrou assured that he had "never (...) interfered" in the debate between social partners. "I simply reiterated that the objective must be to return to balance (in the pension system) by 2030," and he stated that "in my view, we cannot go back to 62, abolish the pension reform, and restore financial balance," he argued.

Age, "the heart of the reactor"

The Prime Minister has "broken the contract," "changed the rules of the game," and "doesn't see the problem," Marylise Léon, the CFDT's number one, denounced on BFMTV/RMC on Tuesday morning.

"We want to discuss the age, the retirement age. It's the heart of the matter. That's why we mobilized and why we wanted to resume discussions," she added.

Under these conditions, the leader warned that she is now "freeing herself" from the government's "framework letter" and intends to negotiate "with those who really want to work" to open "another" conclave.

But this one is in trouble: Force Ouvrière had slammed the door at the first session on February 27, judging that the consultation was turning into a "masquerade" after François Bayrou's demand to restore the financial balance of the pension system by 2030, asking to find 6,6 billion in additional savings compared to what had been requested from the social partners in January.

"Wear and tear" and "hardship" Thursday

On Thursday, only three trade union organisations (CFDT, CFTC, CFE-CGC) and two employers' organisations (Medef and CPME) will meet at the discussion table from 14 p.m. to discuss "professional wear and tear and hardship".

But "with the (latest) twists and turns, I'm afraid there will be a change," Pascale Coton, a negotiator for the CFTC, told AFP.

Taking positions diametrically opposed to those of the unions, the smallest of the three employers' organizations, the U2P (craftsmen, traders and liberal professions) also left the negotiations on Tuesday.

This organization believes that the balance of the pension system "will require pushing back the legal retirement age beyond 64 years," except for difficult jobs.

The Medef (French employers' association), the leading employers' organization, said on Wednesday through its president, Patrick Martin, that it wanted to "give the discussion a chance," but believes, however, that "all social partners, and especially politicians, must take into account this situation of public finances, which is becoming critical."

According to an Elabe poll for BFMTV published Wednesday, 50% of those surveyed want a motion of censure to be passed against François Bayrou's government on the issue of pensions in the coming weeks. And they are: 56% of French people want to return the age limit to 62—compared to 62% in January.