“We must take this mobilization into account”, Olivier Dussopt speaks on the pension reform

Pension reform is more than ever at the heart of the concerns of the French. Proof of this is that they were nearly 2.5 million in the streets of France, according to the unions, Saturday, February 11, to make their dissatisfaction heard. An observation that must be accepted for Olivier Dussopt, Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration. “There is a mobilization. We must not be in denial, we must take it into account. There are, in this mobilization, concerns and questions. I would like the debates that we have in the Assembly national level make it possible to provide answers to questions”he explains.

Regarding the retirement itself, Olivier Dussopt admits that the government knew there would be “disagreement over age“. “The trade unions had told us that they disagreed on the age, but also that a certain number of subjects could be considered as progress. I would like to find this balance in the next days of debate”he continues.

“Emmanuel Macron has never hidden”

This reform, explains Olivier Dussopt, is not the same as that carried out a few months ago, and follows a consultation. “We were on a reform with an age of 65. We came back to 64, because we considered that it was something fairer in terms of distribution of effort. The reform that I am carrying today incorporates provisions on long careers, incorporates provisions on minimum retirement and the employment of seniors”he says.

He also regrets the austere climate that reigns in the Assembly: “For a week, we have been in the National Assembly with LFI deputies who vituperate, who try to cover our voices when we speak and who sometimes cover us with insults.

As for a possible intervention by Emmanuel Macron in the debate, Olivier Dussopt recalls that the President of the Republic campaigned in 2022, for a pension reform which would gradually raise the age to 65. “He never hid his project and the deputies of the majority, of which I am a part, never hid this project”he stresses, recalling that the objective of this reform is “to balance a structurally deficient system” and of “improve it so that it is fairer”.