The Latest Breaking News from CFDT

President Emmanuel Macron has given himself “a hundred days” to mend his broken rapport with the French, aiming for a rebound after a gruelling 100-day pension battle that has roiled the nation, infuriated millions, and deepened a crisis in French democracy.

French President Emmanuel Macron signed his controversial pension reform into law in the early hours of Saturday morning, prompting angry reactions from union leaders and opposition MPs. They are calling for a 'tidal wave' of protests and strikes on 1 May.

Clashes erupted in Paris next to a Left Bank brasserie favoured by French President Emmanuel Macron as protesters torched garbage cans and smashed two banks during the eleventh day of nationwide demonstrations against pension reform.

Crunch talks between trade unions and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on France’s pensions crisis ended in failure after less than an hour on Wednesday morning – with union bosses vowing to press ahead with strikes and protests against government plans to raise the retirement age to 64.

In France these days, there is little common ground between the Élysée Palace and civil society. Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s occasional rhetoric to the contrary, power appears to be exercised from the top down, with violence erupting and spreading, overshadowing meaning and content.

The French government rejected demands Tuesday for a "pause" in pension reform plans to allow for a mediation period. This as clashes with law enforcement, skirmishes, and other acts of vandalism marred demonstrations against pension reform in several cities, including Paris.

Anger at President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform shows no sign of abating, with protests, strikes and unrest set to continue and both sides digging in their heels. To shed some light on the current stand-off, FRANCE 24 looks back at the last times the unions successfully forced the government to…

Laurent Berger, the leader of the CFDT trade union group, has called on the government to make a major gesture on pension reform, saying he will not accept any move towards conciliation with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne until the contested legislation is withdrawn.

Fury at President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to bypass parliament on pension reform has sparked days of unrest across the country, reviving scrutiny of police’s heavy-handed tactics and leaving French cities shrouded in tear gas and smoke – with no end in sight to an increasingly bitter standoff.

To have a chance of cooling a red-hot dispute over plans to raise the retirement age, French President Emmanuel Macron can ill afford to ignore Laurent Berger, head of the moderate CFDT union.

Two French opposition groups, a broad centre-left coalition and the far-right National Rally, have separately filed motions of censure against the government of Elisabeth Borne. The two texts call for the French equivalent of a no confidence vote. Should either motion succeed, the government will be overthrown.