Bruno Le Maire summons the director general of SNCF to discuss an agreement to lay off railway workers

The tablet does not pass by Bercy. Following the signing on Monday of an agreement on the early retirement of railway workers, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said this Thursday that he would summon the SNCF director general “in the coming days.”

Guest of BFMTV, the minister considered that the agreement was “unsatisfactory in his eyes” and that it affected the “balance of pension reform.” He regrets that he was not informed: “I accept that the director general of SNCF must manage relations with trade union organizations, but the supervisory minister must be kept in the loop,” he said again into the BFMTV microphone. He deplored the agreement, which emphasized “a sense of double standards that is very provoking to our compatriots.”

He said he would like Jean-Pierre Farandou to explain to him “how he intends to finance” such a measure. “I expect a convincing explanation,” he insisted.

Cancellation of strike notice

The agreement provides for improvements to the early retirement system, in particular for railway workers who have held positions with proven severity. It was signed by all unions on Monday, a rare unanimity at a public company. The agreement allowed for the cancellation of strike notices served on May’s bridges, among others.

He has drawn sharp criticism from the right and in the presidential camp as he is accused of circumventing the 2023 pension reform, which raised the retirement age to 64 and abolished special schemes. Former transport minister Clément Beaune said on Friday he was “surprised” and “a little shocked” by the agreement. Condemning the “pure scandal,” Republican President Eric Ciotti criticized in L’Opinion that we are perpetuating “an already unjust system that exempts some from the effort required of others.”

On Thursday, Leon Deffontaine, head of the PCF’s European list, welcomed “a little bit of social democracy in this country” over the agreement to end his career.