The French president, Emmanuel Macron, defended yesterday, with vehemence, the work that has been carried out since he arrived at the Elysée in May 2017, and drew an optimistic perspective for the country in the coming years, despite the national challenges and the difficult international situation.
In a crowded press conference at the presidential palace, the head of state presented several initiatives to increase purchasing power, fight the low birth rate, curb crime linked to drug trafficking and improve education so that France does not miss the train technological
In a previous statement that he read, before submitting to questions from hundreds of journalists, the French president vindicated the work done over the past six and a half years, in particular, the creation of two million jobs and 300 factories , as well as other achievements such as “massive reinvestment” in the armed forces.
“We have not finished with our history of progress”, said the head of the Elysee, and he was convinced that the new generations will live better than the current ones. Macron insisted that by appointing Gabriel Attal, only 34 years old, the youngest head of government of the Fifth Republic, as prime minister, he had made a bet for “boldness, action and efficiency”.
The press conference was part of what Macron had been announcing for weeks as a “meeting with the nation” to explain his plans for the three and a half years he has left at the Elysée. The president needs a political relaunch before the European elections in June, in which the extreme right, according to polls, can achieve a major victory. It remains to be seen, however, if the long intervention, broadcast by several channels, helps to overcome the disbelief of the French, a little tired of media maneuvers and presidential rhetoric.
One of the points addressed by the president was the restoration of order in the face of crime, with an emphasis on the fight against drug trafficking, a scourge that is spreading to more and more cities. According to Macron, the new immigration law recently approved will contribute to the success of the fight against drug trafficking. And he promised that there will be ten anti-drug operations every week.
Macron stressed the need to reindustrialize the country and accelerate technological renewal to guarantee the country’s economic sovereignty. That’s why he wants to continue to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles and release all the potential that the country treasures. He advocated further reform of the labor market to better adapt supply and demand.
On the financial front, the president hinted that the imbalances in the accounts – the deficit and the debt – are not the main problem, that “the heart of the battle is to increase activity and wealth”, which will automatically decrease scale of the current financial problem.
Concerned about the low birth rate – the recent data are alarming -, Macron regretted that France, until a few years ago very dynamic demographically, has ceased to be an exception in Europe. Among the announcements, which must be made concrete, “a birth leave” more generous than the current paternity leave and which will mean six months for both parents to take care of their baby. He also advanced a great plan against infertility.
Aware of the malaise in the middle and lower middle classes, Macron admitted that there is what he called “the France of the blind spot”, the millions of people with incomes that are higher than the threshold below which it would allow them receive public aid, but too low to live decently. His idea is to find ways, with the companies, for their wages to increase. For civil servants, the aim is that, in addition to seniority, the merit and performance of public workers is taken into account more in the salary.
Macron did not want to advance or specify all the measures that Attal plans to propose in his general policy speech, scheduled for the 30th of this month before the National Assembly and the Senate. The president preferred not to completely steal the limelight from his new prime minister, who sat in the front row, very attentive, wearing a suit and tie of the same color as Macron.
