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French PM Elisabeth Borne reaches out to opposition ahead of next day of pension protests
- French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne plans to meet with opposition leaders and trade unions in the hope of ending weeks of protests
- Demonstrations against the pension reform, which will raise the retirement age by two years, have turned violent
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French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told Agence France-Presse on Sunday she would meet opposition leaders early next month and was open to talks with unions, after weeks of protests against pensions reforms.
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She also said she would not make further use of the controversial mechanism that allowed her to force through the unpopular reforms without a parliamentary vote, outside budget matters.
Borne spoke ahead of another day of action on Tuesday organised by unions to protest against the reforms to pensions, which include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Stressing that she was open to talks with all social partners, she added: “We have to find the right path … We need to calm down”.
But she also said the pensions reform would go ahead, subject to approval by the Constitutional Council, which will rule on the constitutionality of the legislation.
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Opposition parties are hoping the Council will rule against the government over the reform because of the way it was forced through parliament without a vote.
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