Personnel rout in the midst of a heated mood: After the resignation of the High Commissioner for pension reform in France, President Emmanuel Macron has found a successor. Laurent Pietraszewski was appointed by decree to be the government's highest pension officer, according to Wednesday's official gazette. Pietraszewski is a member of Macron's ruling party, La République en Marche, and a member of the French National Assembly.
His predecessor, Jean-Paul Delevoye, who resigned on Monday played a key role in preparing the controversial pension reform that has been going on strike across the country for two weeks. Revelations about numerous part-time jobs forced the 72-year-old to resign (you can find out more about the background here).
Unions are fighting the reform together for the first time
With a pension reform, the Macron government wants to end the fragmentation into 42 individual pension systems, some of which bring numerous special rights and privileges. The government made concessions to the trade unions on the transition periods to the new point system, but they call for a complete withdrawal of the reform project.
On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of people had once again gathered on the streets for a mass protest. Significant restrictions in public life and local and long-distance trains are expected again on Wednesday. In France, for the first time, all major unions are fighting together against pension reform.
Strike and demos video in France: "Time pressure is high"
THE MIRROR