French union leaders upped their calls on Monday for President
Emmanuel Macron to give ground on a planned pension overhaul, amid signs that support is flagging for a gruelling transport strike now in its 26th day.
Macron will address the nation Tuesday in his annual New Year's Eve speech, having largely left it to his government to defend one of the most contested reforms of his term.
The president will reaffirm his "determined ambition (for) a project of social progress that corrects a number of inequalities," an official at the Elysee Palace told AFP on condition of anonymity.