Can a leader defend pension reform passed without a parliamentary vote?
Core argument: Macron's approval rating fell 4 percentage points over the past month to 28%, according to an IFOP poll, its lowest level since the gilets jaunes crisis.
In his first public statement since ramming through his unpopular pensions reform without a parliamentary vote, Macron defended both the policy and the method and tried to calm public anger that has sparked spontaneous nightly protests from Paris to Rennes. “We must move forward,” he said in a televised interview on Wednesday. “We have to restore calm and rebuild a parliamentary and reform agenda by re-engaging with labor unions and any political parties who are ready to do so.” Macron’s approval ratings have fallen 4 percentage points in the past month to 28%, according to an IFOP poll, their lowest since the gilets jaunes crisis.



