Emmanuel Macron said French retailers should “make an effort” to reduce inflation, rather than putting the onus on farmers whose revenues are already “too low.”

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Emmanuel Macron said French retailers should “make an effort” to reduce inflation, rather than putting the onus on farmers whose revenues are already “too low.”

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Retailers “make profits, and I am happy for them and their employees,” the French president told reporters on the sidelines of the yearly Paris agriculture fair. “But at this moment we can’t ask our producers to make an effort, because they pay more for energy, for various fertilizers, and we need to guarantee their income, which is still very low today.”

Speaking on the impact of the Ukraine war on inflation, Macron said he would visit China in early April. “The fact that China is engaged in peace efforts is very good,” he said. “China must now help us to put pressure on Russia, of course, so that it never uses chemical or nuclear weapons,” he said, adding China could help convince Russia to withdraw its troops.

Macron was also asked about France’s ongoing pensions reform, which has triggered repeated strikes and demonstrations since January. “There is only one solution, and that is to work more,” he said, adding that delaying retirement was the only option to “save” the pension system.

The changes, which include raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, are opposed by as much as 67% of the population, according to a poll by Elabe published last week. 

The lower house of parliament completed its review of the legislation last week, while the right-dominated Senate, which backs the idea of working longer, will start reviewing the text on March 2. Labor unions have called for a further day of strikes on March 7, aiming to bring the country to a standstill.

Macron’s popularity has fallen to its lowest level in three years, with only 32% of French people saying they’re happy with the president, according to an Ifop poll published last week.

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