<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">President Emmanuel Macron is on Monday to address France for the first time since signing into law his controversial pension reform, facing warnings the political and social crisis sparked by the changes is not over.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Macron signed the legislation early Saturday, just hours after the banner change to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 had been validated by the constitutional court, prompting accusations he was smuggling the law through in the dead of night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After three months of protests and strikes, the left and unions have vowed not to give in and have warned of mass protests on the May 1 Labour Day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Polls have consistently showed a majority of French remain opposed to the reform, which the government rammed through parliament using a controversial mechanism allowing it to be passed without a vote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Macron's own personal popularity ratings have eroded, with some analysts suggesting he has given a head-start to far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the long path to 2027 elections.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The press has widely dubbed it a "Pyrrhic victory" after the Greek king who defeated the Romans but saw most of his army destroyed in the process.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>- 'President of chaos' -</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Macron is expected to address the nation around 1800 GMT, presidential sources said, in a speech that government spokesman Olivier Veran said Saturday would be in the spirit of "pacification".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the leader of the powerful CGT union Sophie Binet said in an interview with regional newspapers Sunday that Macron was "on his way to becoming the president of chaos".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"He is opening the way to the National Rally" party of Le Pen, who was shown in one poll as the victor if the 2022 presidential election was re-run at the present time, she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Emmanuel Macron is far from finished from having to deal with the social and political crisis, which he continues to dangerously stir up," said Le Monde daily in an editorial.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It noted that Le Pen was the only French politician whose popularity has been notably boosted by the crisis, while trust in the country's democratic institutions has fallen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The cost of the pensions reform appears to be exorbitant," it said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The crisis also comes at a time of increasing challenges on the international stage for Macron, who faced accusations of cosying up to China on a visit to Beijing last week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 'Determined to accelerate' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Macron, 45, came to power in 2017 promising reform in France and a fresh new politics. But opponents accuse him of increasingly reclusive and anti-democratic behaviour.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Emmanuel Macron no longer has authority ... so suddenly he is becoming brutal and authoritarian," hard-left deputy Clementine Autain told French TV on Sunday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Le Pen said Macron had three choices to end a crisis "which he created himself" -- a referendum on the changes, legislative elections or resignation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne vowed Saturday the government would press ahead with more reforms now the pensions overhaul was passed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We are determined to accelerate" the pace of reforms, she told the national council of Macron's Renaissance party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Binet and other union bosses have called for a "popular and historic tidal wave" of people on the streets to oppose the reforms on May 1.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a prelude to the May 1 protests, railway unions are calling for a day of "railway anger" on April 20. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>