Editorial: Le Monde

• The failure of the 'conclave' on pensions after four months of negotiation among social partners shows the difficulty of achieving a compromise in France.
• A year after the dissolution in June 2024, which deprived the government of majority in the National Assembly and led the country to near political paralysis, the reintroduction of the unions and employers was seen as an attempt at reconciliation.
• The lack of agreement could result in new internal tensions, especially before making painful budgetary decisions.
• The responsibilities of Medef and the CGPME are considerable, as they deprived the CFDT, the CFTC, and the CFE-CGC of enough advances to allow them to formally stop contesting the retirement age at 64 years.
• The CFDT, believing that the social partners, marginalized by Emmanuel Macron, could regain power during the political block, risks breaking the trade union unity.
• François Bayrou, is at risk of a triple setback since his bet to bring the social partners back into the game is about to be declared a loser.

Conclusion: The editorial suggests that difficulties in achieving agreements between the social partners and the French government have led to a political stagnation, where every attempt at compromise has failed to yield significant progress. This could have serious consequences for Bayrou's political future and France's overall stability.

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