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French press review 16 October 2015

The forgotten war in Yemen rages on as regional powers battle for supremacy. Can the Socialist party referendum unite leftist voters ahead of the French regional elections? And celebration of 120 years of social dialogue in France is marred as an ugly Air France clash pit the unions against corporate chiefs.

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This Friday in France is marked by the launch of negotiations on complementary pension reforms and the opening of polls for the Socialist party’s referendum on a single list for the Left in upcoming regional elections.

“Referendum of contrasting ambitions”. That’s how Le Figaro described the stakeholders vote. For the right-wing publication, the ballot has become a subject of scorn not just by Communist party and Left-Front faithful but also by the Greens party Europe-Ecologie-Les-Verts which have instead preferred to stage parallel consultations on the policies of the government.

“Mister 300,000 votes”, is the nickname given to the Socialist party chief Jean Christophe Cambadelis by Libération. The left-leaning publication, surprisingly mocks the ruling party chief for deriving great pleasure from his project while the operation is nothing but a communications stunt by a man with a track record in inflating election figures.

For the Communist party daily L’Humanité, the so-called referendum requiring voters to say yes to the urgency of fielding a unitary list is nothing more than an attempt to blackmail left-leaning voters. According to the paper, having struggled in vain to mobilize left-leaning voters, the Socialist party opted to go ahead with the ballot to mask the failures of the Socialist-led government.

“Complementary pensions: reform or bankruptcy”. That’s Le Figaro’s front page splash this Friday, as the corporate chiefs’ organization MEDEF and the unions begin a new round of crunch negotiations on the funding of senior staff salaries and conditions for retirement.

The negotiations are described by the right-wing publication as problematic due to the sticking points keeping the two parties apart: he employers' union has made a shock proposal to the syndicates aimed at inciting white collar; and management staff to prolong their years of service.

Under the offer, MEDEF is poised to slash pension benefits for managers and senior staff who decide to retire before 64 and grant bonuses to those who stop work later.

There are two unions which consider the proposal as an infringement of the red line and a violation of the law setting the retirement age at 62: Force Ouvrière and the CGT. What they are clamouring, for according to Le Figaro, is an increase in corporate funding of pension schemes, the CFDT for example pushing for 0,1 percent rise over three years.

Le Figaro argues that while MEDEF was until recently unwilling to listen, an accord is becoming crucial. If nothing is done, it warns, the reserves of the two plans (AGIRC and ARRCO already 1.7 billion in the red since 2013) will be exhausted by 2018 and 2027 respectively. The right-wing publication warns the two parties that in case of deadlock the government will take over the dossier, an option in which each of the two parties stands to lose.

And as the government and union leaders gather in Limoges for President Hollande’s 4th social conference and the celebration of the 120th anniversary of the introduction of social dialogue in France, l’Humanité sat down with leaders of the CGT syndicate whose members face prosecution for the violent attack on two Air France managers.

The CGT tells the paper it won’t be sending delegates to the Limoges Conference to protest the dismissal of its five members implicated in the Air France scuffle and because it would be impossible under the current, highly-charged context to express themselves.

Libération undertakes a perilous journey to the forgotten war in Yemen, which had claimed 5000 lives with more than 25000 others injured since March 2015. According to the newspaper the country is now split by an infernal spiral and a power struggle pitting Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Islamic State armed group. For Libé, the conflict is a reflection of the strategic transformations taking place in the region with Saudi Arabia assuming the leadership of the Arab World.

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