In Hérault, Emmanuel Macron spoke about education with teachers and avoided protesters

After Alsace on Wednesday, where he was jeered at by demonstrators on several occasions, Emmanuel Macron went to the field again, Thursday April 20, with the aim of continuing his business of“appeasement” of the country after the validation of the pension reform, which has so far proved difficult. Trying to reconnect with the French and the field, Emmanuel Macron announced during his trip to the Hérault, an increase from the start of the school year, in the salary of teachers, not without having been arrested again by residents and hundreds of protesters opposed pension reform.

After discussing at length with teachers, parents and students, the president acknowledged that” he (had to) better recognize and better pay teachers” before announcing a “unconditional rise” the monthly salary of 100 to 230 euros net for teachers, “at all career levels” And “from the start of the school year”. The announced increase will be increased “up to 500 euros per month” for those who accept new missions, on a voluntary basis, added the Head of State, without giving further details.

For two hours, the Head of State listened for a long time, taking notes, to the members of the educational community of the Louise-Michel college in Ganges, seated in a circle around him on chairs hastily set up in the courtyard of break. The electricity had indeed been cut in the establishment, on the initiative of the CGT.

“Eggs and casseroles are just for cooking at home”

When he arrived, he did not meet the hundreds of noisy demonstrators gathered in the morning in the city center, a procession held at a good distance from the college by the police. Whistles, vuvuzelas, smoke bombs… but no saucepans. Some were confiscated by the gendarmes while a prefectural decree prohibited “portable sound devices”.

” We are here “, “Macron resignation” chanted the protesters in this town of 4,000 inhabitants in the foothills of the Cévennes, CGT, UNSA-Education, SNES-FSU flags and black balloons in hand as a sign of mourning. Some threw eggs and potatoes at the police. “Eggs and casseroles are just for cooking at home”commented Emmanuel Macron on his arrival, in a short exchange with the deputy La Franec insoumise of the constituency, Sébastien Rome, who said to him: ” Resistance (East) a little far away, you can’t hear it, but it’s there. »

For this trip devoted to preparing for the next school year, the Head of State was accompanied by the Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye and the Secretary of State for Veterans and Remembrance, Patricia Mirallès. The objective for the president was to address “three axis” For “continuing the transformation of public schools”, according to the Elysee. During his televised address on Monday evening, Mr. Macron promised that the school would change “at a glance” from September, with teachers “better paid”students “more supported” in French and mathematics in particular and a “systematic replacement of absent teachers”.

“Prefer a heckled president to a stashed president”

This second trip since the promulgation of the pension reform on the night of Friday to Saturday April 15, after its validation by the Constitutional Council, was to allow the Head of State to continue his work in the field, within the framework of the course of “hundred days” he has set himself and his government to get the country out of social crisis.

Following Wednesday’s episode, Mr. Macron repeated his desire to move the country forward, arguing: “You have to hear the anger, I’m not deaf to it”but “it will not prevent me from continuing to move”. “The mission of a President of the Republic is neither to be loved nor not to be loved, it is to try to do good for his country and to act”he added.

An argument defended by the government, like the Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, who declared Thursday morning “prefer a heckled president to a stashed president”on the sidelines of a press conference in Bercy on public finances. “Whether the people are angry or not, you always have to meet them”added Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, during this same speech.

Canceled trips and “casserolades” in the reception committee

Emmanuel Macron is not the only one to see his travels heckled by opponents of the pension reform: several ministers have been received freshly by reception committees and “casserolades” in recent days or have been forced to give up field visits. A dozen CGT activists questioned, Thursday morning, the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, traveling to Garges-les-Gonesse (Val-d’Oise) on the pension reform. The Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, went through another entry for this trip dedicated to inclusion in sport.

Traveling to Agen, Wednesday evening, the Minister of Digital, Jean-Noël Barrot, was greeted by dozens of people with saucepans and by a long power cut in a brasserie where he was to lead a conference. Same concert of saucepans for Christophe Béchu (Ecology) on Wednesday in Sarthe, where around twenty demonstrators unfurled a banner “The government persists, so do we”told the regional daily West France.

The Attac association also calls “not to let go of Macron and his ministers and to join the non-reception committees everywhere in France” and offers a map on its site to follow the movements of the ministers.

“You don’t give a shit about what the people want to claim”

After distinguishing between ” the disagreement “ And “incivism” in the dispute, the Head of State made an unannounced visit to the small town of Pérols for yet ” explain “ reform and make selfies with children. “I’m not going to quit”he assured a woman who expressed her disagreement with the pension reform. “You don’t give a shit about what the people want to claim”she replied.

The president also expressed reservations about the commitment made by his prime minister, during an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), to no longer use 49.3, excluding financial texts. “I am not responsible for the AFP interviews of the Prime Minister”affirmed the Head of State, who however renewed his ” trust “.

In parallel with the trip of the Head of State to Ganges, and while waiting for the great mobilization to which the unions are calling for their wishes for the 1^er-May, however, sectors remain mobilized elsewhere on Thursday. The four representative unions of the SNCF called in particular for a “day of expression of anger railway worker”, presented as a “preparation stage” at 1^er-May. With almost normal TGV traffic and four out of five TER trains on average, the disruptions were however limited.