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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The French finance minister tried to sell France to Emirati investors on Monday, emphasizing what he said were business-friendly reforms for President Emmanuel Macron — while Sidestepped ongoing protests at home over pension reform plans.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire’s visit to the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi comes days after more than a million people marched against Macron’s government’s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
With more marches planned for Tuesday, unions have united against proposals that would affect the state pension system accessible to all retirees.
Speaking to people gathered at the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Le Maire offered an optimistic view of the changes that Macron’s government has implemented. Le Maire later told reporters that France is a democracy and that protest is the right of the people.
“You know, when you make a strong decision, you can expect a strong reaction,” he said. “If you want this solidarity-based pension system to be effective over the next decade, you need reforms, you need to keep the system financially balanced.”
He also backed the UAE’s selection of Sultan al-Jaber to lead the upcoming UN COP28 climate talks in Dubai, which begin in November. The UAE, a major oil producer and member of OPEC, has come under fire from activists for nominating ADNOC Chief Executive Al-Jabir.
However, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and others support Jaber’s choice, in part because of his work on renewable energy projects.
“Don’t misunderstand the challenge of COP28. The challenge of COP28 is not knowing who is in charge of the COP,” Le Maire said. “The main challenge at COP28 is reserves, concrete decisions.”
He added: “All the talks I’ve had here with the CEO of ADNOC and members of the UAE government have proven to me that they really want to get to an end result and it’s going to be a very positive and strong one.”
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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
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