“I have just presented to you the ambition of our government.” At the end of a speech of one hour twenty, Wednesday July 6, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, concludes her speech of general policy in front of the deputies. “The time is not to count us, but to talk to us”assured the head of government who did not ask for a vote of confidence, because of the relative majority at the Palais-Bourbon. “Trust cannot be decreed a priori, it will be forged, text after text, project after project”justified Elisabeth Borne, causing boos in the ranks of Nupes.
At the instigation of LFI, a motion of censure by Nupes was filed the same day. “Do we want to block or do we want to build?” replied Elisabeth Borne, who is committed to the new method promised by Emmanuel Macron: more compromise and dialogue. She also detailed the government’s priorities: purchasing power, work and full employment, the ecological emergency. Here is what to remember from Elisabeth Borne’s general policy speech.
The government’s new method
“It is time to enter the era of forces building together”. In the preamble to her speech, the Prime Minister first wanted to set out the government’s method for the five-year term that is about to begin. On several occasions, Elisabeth Borne has called for “work for the French who invite us to new practices and to the active search for compromise”. The head of government wanted to convey a message of unity vis-à-vis the political opposition groups. “For too long the blocks have clashed, the relative majority will not be synonymous with relative action and will not be synonymous with impotence”.
In her outstretched hand to the 577 deputies, Elisabeth Borne also wanted to go further. “The French we ask us to speak to us more, to speak to us better and to build together”, she hammered to the applause of her camp. Before adding under the cries from the benches of the National Rally: “We want to give meaning to the value of compromise, but compromise is not about compromising yourself”.
As proof of her willingness to work with the entire national representation, according to Emmanuel Macron’s wishes, Elisabeth Borne challenged each president of the parliamentary group throughout her speech. Elisabeth Borne named the presidents of all the groups, except the presidents of the La France insoumise group, Mathilde Panot, and of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen..
Purchasing power, a priority
To fight against the inflation that affects the French, Elisabeth Borne presented several proposals. After recalling that France was registering “the lowest inflation in the euro zone”the head of government has announced that she wants “extend tariff shield on gas and electricity prices, increase labor income, lower the costs of the self-employed or even revalue pensions”.
Concrete measures on purchasing power were also put forward by the Matignon tenant. On taxes, Elisabeth Borne assured that there would be “no tax hike” and that the abolition of the audiovisual license fee as of this summer would allow “will save 138 euros per household”.
On the subject of work, the government wishes “Building a society of full employment” changing “our relationship to work”. To better support the unemployed and under the boos of the deputies of La France insoumise, Elisabeth Borne recalled that the executive would transform Pôle Emploi into France Travail.
Finally, on pensions, the Prime Minister wishes “building new social progress” putting in place “a minimum retirement pension of 1,100 euros”, promised by Emmanuel Macron. Regarding the pension reform, Elisabeth Borne recalled that it would be well completed. “Yes, we will have to work gradually a little longer and take into account the long careers and the arduousness. This government will lead the consultations with the social partners by involving parliamentarians”she explained in a widespread ruckus.
Ecological emergency and renationalization of EDF
Another priority that the government wanted to display: respond to the ecological emergency. Here again, the Prime Minister seemed to reach out to all parliamentarians to “winning the climate battle”. “We all have to unite but I don’t believe that this climate revolution goes through degrowth”she launched, to the applause of the benches of the majority.
The Chief Executive also made announcements on fossil fuels. “We will be the first major ecological nation to get out of fossil fuels.”, she promised. Before adding: “We will deploy renewable energies and we will continue to invest in nuclear power with the construction of new reactors, because the energy transition goes through nuclear power”. Another promise in the face of the climate emergency which “imposes strong and radical decisions”says Elisabeth Borne: the next renationalisation of EDF.
On school and health, priority to early childhood
Regarding youth, the government wants to put the package on training. “We want to train millions of young people”, she promised. Teachers’ salaries should therefore be increased and “a consultation with the actors of the sector will take place at the start of the school year to bring to life the republican values”.
According to the Prime Minister, the little childhood will also be a priority for this five-year term. “We will respond to the lack of childcare solutions and we will build a public early childhood service with local communities”, announced Elisabeth Borne, specifying that the government would help in priority to parents who raise their child alone and by granting aid up to 12 years for single-parent families.
On the theme of health, Elisabeth Borne also wanted to pay tribute to caregivers on the front line facing the Covid-19 epidemic. “The Covid has exposed the weaknesses of our healthcare system. It has also shown the exceptional commitment of our caregivers”she launched to the applause of the presidential majority, before the invectives of the deputies of France Insoumise to cries of“hypocrites, hypocrites”. Elisabeth Borne has also made several promises: the holding of a national disability conference in early 2023 and the reform of the disabled adult allowance and its deconjugation. A measure which aroused the ironic cries of the right-wing opposition which had proposed this same measure under the previous legislature.
Oppositions express their “distrust”
At the end of Elisabeth Borne’s speech, the main leaders of the opposition parties addressed the Prime Minister from the rostrum of the Assembly. His continuation as head of government after the legislative elections is a “political provocation”launched Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally group at the Palais Bourbon.
Mathilde Panot, leader of the La France insoumise deputies, judged that Elisabeth Borne had chosen the “strategy of the save who can” by not submitting to the vote of confidence of the deputies. A vote which, according to Mathilde Panot, “imposed”.
His counterpart Les Républicains Olivier Marleix, for his part, promised that his group would not engage in any “compromise” with the executive and would refuse the “little soup” politician. While remaining open to support on several texts.