French President Emmanuel Macron is asking unions for a Christmas “truce” as the massive strike against Macron’s proposed pension plan heads into its third week.

President Emmanuel Macron: “Strikes are justifiable and protected by the Constitution, but I think there are moments in a nation’s life when it is good to observe a truce out of respect for families and family life. So I’m calling on everyone to have this sense of responsibility.”

President Macron has also said he will give up his own presidential pension as a concession to demonstrators who have launched nationwide strikes over Macron’s effort to overhaul the French pension system and effectively raise the retirement age for younger workers. The unions have ruled out a Christmas truce and are instead demanding Macron scrap the pension overhaul.