Hotly debated for more than three years, the reform «is absolutely essential to us», judged in Paris the Renaissance deputy from the Gers, invited to speak before the Association of Economic and Financial Journalists (Ajef).
Since the government does not want to deepen the public debt or increase taxes, «we can only play on working time» to finance the pension system, he said.
«At some point, it has to be done», insisted Jean-René Cazeneuve, «favorable» to the inclusion of the pension reform in one of the three budgetary texts in preparation (probably the bill for the financing of social security for 2023, PLFSS).
«There were two years of consultation on the previous pension reform, and the longer the consultation, the more people there were who were against it. Those who tell you that you have to wait sometimes just don’t have the courage “to make the reform, attacked the parliamentarian.
In 2019, the previous attempt to reform pensions ended in massive strikes that paralyzed transport.
President Emmanuel Macron promised during his campaign to raise the legal retirement age to 65. The executive has not ruled out that the reform will be adopted quickly, via the PLFSS presented on September 26 in the Council of Ministers.
But the boss of the MoDem François Bayrou, pillar of the presidential camp, said on Saturday «opposed to the passage in force» which, according to him, would constitute an amendment to the PLFSS.
First French union, the CFDT promised Sunday to oppose «by all means» the passage of the pension reform by this legislative vehicle, «a brutal measure».
«We must not make people believe that the PLFSS would be a forced passage. For having sat for a long time in the finance committee, we spend a lot of time on the social security financing bill», reacted Monday on RMC the minister SME delegate Olivia Grégoire.
«We will, I believe from the weekend, be shed light» on how the government intends to proceed, she added.