The return of a presidential ritual. As in 2020 but unlike each of the other years since entering the Élysée Palace, Emmanuel Macron gave a television interview on Thursday July 14, National Day. Shortly after 1 p.m., he answered questions from journalists Anne-Claire Coudray (TF1) and Caroline Roux (France Télévisions) for nearly an hour from the gardens of the Élysée. The opportunity for the Head of State, nearly three months after his re-election and one month after losing his absolute majority in the National Assembly, to try to really launch his second five-year term.
The subjects discussed were very numerous: inflation and purchasing power, pensions, security, the 7th wave of Covid, the health bill, the heated debates in the National Assembly, the controversy over ” Uber files”, etc. Here’s what to take away from the answers.
“The war will last”
The President of the Republic began by responding to the subject of the war in Ukraine. “We have a strong army, equipped with nuclear deterrence, we have reinvested in the last five years (…) What we see is what is called high intensity warfare, which involves nuclear power on the ground European. France, he said, has the means to protect itself and to help its allies. The Head of State believes that France must however continue to invest. “If we are weak on the cyber level, your hospitals, state services can be flattened”, developed Emmanuel Macron, before also mentioning investments in the maritime and space sectors.
Asked about the future consequences of this conflict, Emmanuel Macron called on the French to prepare for the war to last. “Summer and the beginning of autumn are likely to be hard,” he confided. With the economic consequences that go with it.
Macron calls on the French to energy sobriety
“Energy prices rose before the war, according to Emmanuel Macron. They rose with the war. The President of the Republic noted that Russia had started to cut gas supplies, and claimed to see a hybrid war there. “Russia uses energy as a weapon of war” and will end up cutting off all of its deliveries, he says. In response, Emmanuel Macron recalled that France is less dependent on Russian gas than some of its neighbors. The country is in the process of filling its gas stocks. But the French “will have to learn sobriety”. This effort should also be led by administrations and businesses. A sobriety plan “with set goals” will be implemented this summer.
“Climate change is already here”
This energy sobriety must help in the fight against climate change, argued Emmanuel Macron. Because “climate change is already there”, according to him. Emmanuel Macron also said he was counting on renewable energies and in particular on offshore wind power. An emergency law must be voted this summer to reduce the delays in implementing renewable energy parks.
The Head of State welcomed the closure of two coal-fired power stations out of the 4 available to France. We have to keep a plant for a few more quarters because we have delays.
More targeted aid for purchasing power
“France was one of the first countries” to set up a shield on gas and electricity prices. Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to maintain this aid until the end of the year, as part of the upcoming review of the purchasing power bill. Emmanuel Macron called for a reform of the European electricity market, regretting that the evolution of prices is slammed on those of gas. “I want to say in all transparency that we are going to move towards mechanisms that will target the people who need it the most. This does not mean that the middle classes will be forgotten. The President of the Republic said he wanted to invest to help the middle classes and modest French people to commit to the energy transition.
priority at work
Emmanuel Macron wanted to send messages to the French this Thursday. He who has set himself the goal of achieving full employment, now expects the mobilization of all, while many jobs are to be filled. According to him, this is another way of tackling the economic crisis. “The best response to purchasing power is work and wages. I want this summer that we can make progress on labor reform. The unemployment rate at 7%, we did it. »
Emmanuel Macron said he meets restaurateurs who cannot open on weekends due to lack of staff. “And if the French no longer want to occupy these jobs? asked Caroline Roux. “If behind the answer is I will benefit from national solidarity for my life, I can’t hear it. Emmanuel Macron recalled that with the upcoming increase in the minimum wage, the minimum wage will have increased by 8% in recent months. “With the employment bonus, we arrive at a salary of 1,475 euros per month. Follow my gaze, ”he launched to tackle Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who pleads for the minimum wage at 1,500 euros.
Macron aims for one million apprentices
To achieve full employment, the Head of State says he is counting on national education, but also on vocational training and apprenticeship. It has set itself the target of one million apprentices.
What pension reform?
Last month, Marine Le Pen claimed that the pension reform was, according to her, already buried. An assertion quickly denied by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne who, during her general policy speech, affirmed that the French will have to “work gradually a little longer”. Still, the very difficult context in the National Assembly greatly reduces the margins of maneuver of the majority.
“What I am committed to is to say we must gradually shift the starting age to reach 65 by 2030,” said Head of State Emmanuel Macron, according to whom the French must work more, to finance our social model. “There are 3 ways to finance this, no tax increase. Second thing, the debt. Do we have margin? No. The French must therefore prepare for the great return of the serious budget. “We must not increase the debt”. Only one way remains, according to the presidential theory: the creation of wealth. By working more. A strategic and general discussion will be implemented at the start of the school year in September to move forward on this file, with consultation of union and employer representatives. Emmanuel Macron says he is aiming for entry into force in the summer of 2023.
Compromises in Parliament
It remains to be seen with what majority. A motion of censure on Monday, a health bill emptied of much of its substance overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. The week was lively in the National Assembly and the majority was able to realize what could happen if it did not manage to convince opposition parties to vote on its side. Emmanuel Macron said however that he did not believe in the permanent blockage, believing in the spirit of responsibility of the opposition formations. The episode of the night from Tuesday to Wednesday would be the result of a “heat stroke”. And to continue: “you have LFI deputies with RN and LR who voted together. I do not believe that the LR deputies have made a commitment to their constituents with LFI and RN to prevent a border pass from being put in place. »
A council of the refoundation from September
Emmanuel Macron believes that the French have asked him to listen to the opposition more, nothing more. “If things had changed to a point that makes action impossible for me, I could not have confirmed Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne,” he recalled. The Head of State clearly wants to be optimistic about his ability to find compromises. Emmanuel Macron recalled his desire to implement a refoundation council from September.
Covid: the peak is passing
Emmanuel Macron, he got used to it for more than two years, returned to the health crisis. “The peak is passing on this 7th wave, so we did well collectively. »
Macron assumes his action with Uber
Le Monde and France Info revealed this week the very strong involvement of Emmanuel Macron, then Minister of the Economy, in favor of the company Uber when the war with taxis was in full swing. “I didn’t help Uber particularly at all. I do not have a temperament to be under the influence, ”he eluded, swearing to have met very many companies. “When you’re a minister, you don’t do things against the advice of the government,” he insisted, in response to the assertions of François Hollande and several former ministers who claim to have never been made aware of the initiatives of the former minister.