the President responds to the demands of French trade unions and open for improvements to the planned pension reform.

The French government is prepared to "compromise" in a pensionsstrid with the country's trade unions.

It appears by a statement from president Emmanuel Macrons office on Wednesday ahead of a meeting between government representatives and union leaders.

the President is "willing to improve" pensionsplanen hoping to end a two-week long protest that has paralyzed large parts of France's transport networks.

However, rejects the Macron brand to drop the pension reform, such as trade unions have demanded.

After Wednesday's meeting with prime minister Édouard Philippe says the head of the moderate CFDT-union, Laurent Berger, that the parties "is still very far from an agreement".

Also Philippe Martinez from the trade union of the CGT was to the meeting.

- We are to sound the alarm over the situation in the country - over the dissatisfaction, he says subsequently.

The French government wants a new pension system, there must be more uniform than the current one.

Until today there have been 42 special arrangements for everything from sailors to ballet dancers. They earn each to the pension in different ways.

the Retirement age should on paper continue to be 62 years. But there will be clear economic advantages to be two years longer in the labour market.

Efforts to raise the retirement age to 64 years, in practice, is the fault of unions, calling the reform "a gift to employers". They want it scrapped.

Prime minister Édouard Philippe insists, however, that the new pension system will be more transparent and fair than the current one.

Especially for women and low income earners, he claims.

It happens, for example, by raising the guaranteed minimum pension to 1000 euros per month from 2022. It corresponds to the button 7500 dollars a month.

on Tuesday attended about 615.000 people across the country in demonstrations against the Macrons pension reform.

/ritzau/AFP