Macron Leans on Crack Team to Face Down Unions in Reform Push

by Dramelin 3:00 AM 0 comments

French President Emmanuel Macron opens talks with unions Thursday, breaking only for lunch as he seeks to push through reforms of social systems, some of which date back to the end of World War II.
  His secret weapon: a squad of five men who’ll take on the unions’ wrath.
The round-the-clock meetings will touch on unemployment benefits, retraining workers and fixing an outdated pension system -- all historically sensitive subjects.
Macron will use his now well-honed “talk-before-you-vote” technique to whittle away union opposition -- something that helped him pass a landmark overhaul of the country’s labor law last month.
Street protests have been limited, and Macron’s approval rating, which dived in September, is inching up.
Although the risk of protests can’t be written off, it has so far been small.
As he seeks to end an decades-old French habit of making timid, piecemeal changes to its labor, welfare and pension systems that have kept unemployment close to 10 percent and swollen the country’s debt, he is relying on a team of elite advisers: Five men who will spend days addressing union leaders’ objections in closed-door meetings.
Below are the people who’re working on making the Macron Reform possible: Macron’s Bomb Squad Pierre-Andre ImbertWhere: Elysee PalaceWhat: Adviser to the PresidentAge: 47The discreet, gray-haired aide is the key planner for all the main social system reforms decided by Macron.
Imbert started his career in human resources and restructuring consulting in 2003.
He worked on a previous attempt to change the labor law by the Socialist government under President Francois Hollande.
His next reform targets unemployment benefits, a pillar of France’s social security -- still co-managed by unions.
Antoine Foucher Where: Labor MinistryWhat: Chief of Staff Age: 37Foucher chaired over 50 meetings with business and labor unions to pave the way for Macron’s labor law overhaul.
Before joining Macron’s team, he worked at the Medef business lobby, Schneider Electric SA and in the labor ministry of conservative former President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Marc FerracciWhere: Labor MinistryWhat: Special AdviserAge: 39Ferracci has a special bond with Macron: he was the best man at the president’s wedding.
This friend of Macron’s is in charge of the nerve-wracking task of reworking the unemployment benefits system from scratch -- something the unions will fight tooth and nail.
The former university professor and economics major is the son of a labor and social law expert with extensive networks in France’s social groups -- a big plus for him during the talks.
Stephane Lardy Where: Labor MinistryWho: Deputy Chief of StaffAge: 51The former executive of Force Ouvriere -- the labor union that fiercely opposed the 2008 working hours reform and the 2010 pension reform - is now the Labor Minister’s Chief of Staff.
Lardy is in charge of rewriting the rules of professional training that will help workers adapt to market transformations and is working on reforming its 32 billion-euro ($38 billion) funding scheme.
Jean-Paul Delevoye Where: High Committee for Pensions ReformWho: ChiefAge: 70The lifelong conservative politician’s diplomatic style makes him a key member of the team as it works to avoid clashes.
His smooth negotiating skills served him well as a minister under former President Jacques Chirac to harmonize the country’s 35 pension regimes.