The Head of State has been bragging about his record for several months, particularly on the economic and social front. But what can we think of his positions and those of his ministers? Anthology.
After months of false suspense, Emmanuel Macron is finally out of the woods: candidate for a second term, the President of the Republic presents his program, which should be divided into five main themes, as Le Figaro pointed out this week. The opportunity to discover his plans for the years to come, while the president-candidate is at the top of all the polls.
The Head of State has been bragging about his record for several months, particularly on the economic and social front. But what can we think of his positions? As with other presidential candidates, Le Figaro verified several of the statements of Emmanuel Macron as well as members of his government. Anthology.
Retirement age: France, a European exception?
While he promised not to touch the retirement age in 2017, Emmanuel Macron changed his tune, confirming that he wanted to gradually push it back to 65 years old. A way to reduce unemployment among seniors, and to finance pensions for the years to come, according to his entourage. Another argument, our neighbors have all already taken the plunge: “in Germany, in Spain, in Italy, in the United Kingdom, we already leave at 65said government spokesman Gabriel Attal. Is right ? Our audit offers an overview in Europe.
Read alsoRetirement age: have our European neighbors all already opted for 65?
Employment: youth unemployment, in the “lower» ?
Emmanuel Macron like his government repeat it over and over again: employment and the fight against unemployment are among the priorities of the five-year term. Full employment would even be within reach, according to several ministers, who assume this objective for the next few years. More specifically, the President of the Republic recently welcomed the good results obtained on the youth employment front, after years of massive unemployment in this age group. But is his record so flattering? Our audit went into detail on the numbers.
Read alsoIs Emmanuel Macron right to congratulate himself on a low unemployment rate among young people?
Energy: nuclear power, a factor of independence for France?
Pointing to France’s uranium imports to fuel its nuclear power plants, Yannick Jadot recently estimated that “the only energy sovereignty is renewable energies, because the wind, the sun, the water, the heat of the ground, the sea, it does not belong to anyone”. For its part, the executive assumes its choice to build new EPRs in the decades to come: “renewables such as nuclear are energies of sovereignty“. Does nuclear power make us independent or dependent on foreign countries? Our audit explains this file to you.
Read alsoDoes civilian nuclear energy guarantee France’s energy sovereignty?
Business creations: a particularly positive assessment?
Emmanuel Macron regularly highlights his economic and social results, which he presents in a particularly positive way. “We have never created so many companies, we have never had so few bankruptcies”, had thus hammered the Head of State on the results of his action, in December. But is this statement true? What do these numbers hide? Our verification deciphers the realities behind the declaration of the tenant of the Élysée.
Read alsoBusiness creations: is Emmanuel Macron’s balance sheet so flattering?
Budget: theno matter what», massive spending against an economic collapse?
Spend massively… to avoid spending massively? Wanted by Emmanuel Macron from the first hours of the pandemic, the “no matter whatwould have avoided an explosion of debt in France, according to Bruno Le Maire. “We would have been much more impoverished if we had not spent money to protect employees and companies, all French people have understood this“, assured the Minister of Economy and Finance. Is right ? To find out, click on our verification.
Read alsoHas the “whatever the cost” made it possible to avoid an explosion of debt?
Security: Was a 2017 campaign promise fulfilled?
Emmanuel Macron promised it loud and clear in 2017. As president, he will recruit “10,000 additional police and gendarmes“. Five years later, the executive assures him: the commitment has been kept, and the promised positions are indeed there. A few weeks before the end of the quinquennium, what is the situation? Was the schedule kept? Our audit goes back on this promise.
Read alsoWere there 10,000 additional police and gendarme positions during the Macron five-year term?
Employment: more than a million jobs created in five years, despite the health crisis?
Government spokesman Gabriel Attal assures us:In five years, we have created 1.2 million jobs in France“. For their part, Élisabeth Borne, Agnès Pannier-Runacher and Bruno Le Maire speak rather of “a millionof jobs created since 2017. Are these figures correct, when France has gone through major crises, including that of Covid-19, since the start of the five-year term? We come back to these numbers in our audit.
Read alsoWere “1.2 million jobs” created during Macron’s five-year term?
European defence: a leap forward since 2017?
Emmanuel Macron assured the MEPs: “Considerable progress, unprecedented in our history, has taken place in recent years», in terms of European defence. A positive assessment, therefore, disputed by the elected (LR) Arnaud Danjean. So who should you believe? In terms of European defence, has progress really been made since the start of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term? To find out, read our review.
Read alsoHas European defense progressed more in recent years than in thirty years?
Employment: unemployment at its lowest sincefifteen» ?
This is an argument brandished repeatedly by Emmanuel Macron: the unemployment rate would be at its lowest since the 2008 crisis.fifteen“. A finding that may surprise, as France has faced several crises, including Covid-19, since 2017. So is it true? Does the government havedoes the job»? Our audit tells you what the numbers show.
Read alsoIs unemployment really at its lowest “for fifteen years”?
Education: is the academic level of the pupils progressing?
Jean-Michel Blanquer assures us: the severe observation of the Court of Auditors on the state of schools in France is exaggerated. If the magistrates consider that the “overall performance of the French education system“would tend to”degrade“, the Minister of National Education affirms that this is not the case. So what about it? Our verification returns to the elements allowing us to judge the state of the French education system.
Read alsoIs the academic level of French students really improving?
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