Unions have warned they will continue the public transport strike through Christmas if necessary, something the govt is hoping to avoid.
However, after talks with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, the head of the moderate CFDT union, Laurent Berger, said they remained “still very far from an agreement”. An Elabe poll released Wednesday found that six in 10 respondents opposed the project, an increase of eight points from a week earlier, with just 43% approving.
Pressure mounted against the government this week when it had to scramble to replace the top official overseeing the pension negotiations, who was forced to resign after it emerged he had failed to declare income from outside work. “Obviously we are ready to work on a compromise,” government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye said Wednesday.
A Harris Interactive poll released Tuesday found that 69% of respondents wanted a Christmas “truce” – though 62% also said they support the strike.Train operator SNCF has warned that it may now be too late to get services back to normal by Dec 25, and several universities have cancelled or postponed year-end exams.