- French President Emmanuel Macron is aiming to calm public anger that threatens the ambitions of his remaining four years in power with a first televised address to the nation on Monday since he enacted protest-igniting pension reforms.
- The evening address kicks off a likely arduous battle for the second-term president to repair the damage done to his public image and legislative plans by forcing through an increase in France’s retirement age from 62 to 64.
- Opponents of the unpopular reform called for people to bang pots and pans outside government offices during the address, with the rallying cry: “Macron won’t listen to us? We won’t listen to him!”
