The President of the Republic believes in particular that he should have “wet himself” more to defend the highly contested pension reform.
As the first anniversary of his re-election approaches , Emmanuel Macron takes stock and outlines the rest of his mandate. In an interview with eleven readers of the Parisian (paid item)published on Sunday April 23, the president defends the highly contested pension reform, while considering that it has not been “present enough to give consistency and carry” this text itself. Here’s what to take away from his key statements.
Emmanuel Macron believes he should have “wet” more on pensions
Asked about the pension reform, Emmanuel Macron judges that he would have “maybe” of “more (get) wet” to carry the text. “But these are the institutions”he justifies: “The president is the guarantor. He sets the course, then the government and Parliament have done their job.” “Perhaps the mistake was not being present enough to give consistency and carry out this reform myself”he adds.
On the concerts of saucepans, heard during these recent trips, Emmanuel Macron judges that “when you have people who are there only to cover your voice, even throw things at you, it’s no longer a dispute, it’s called incivility”. “We have to be careful because if we confuse all the notions, we will make our democracy dysfunctional”he says.
On food inflation, “it’s going to be tough” until “the end of summer”
“I’ll be honest, food prices, it’s going to be tough until the end of the summer”, warns the President of the Republic, while, over one year, food prices have continued to accelerate, climbing to 15.9% in March, against 14.8% in February. Faced with these surges, the Head of State pleads for “work pays better”returning the ball to “employers” and at “social dialogue”.
The Head of State finally pleads for “a single text” of immigration law
Change of strategy on the immigration file. Emmanuel Macron finally affirms with our colleagues from the Parisian that he would like the future law to be presented “in a single text”. “I want an effective and fair law, in a single text that maintains this balance”, declares the Head of State. During his speech on March 22, he nevertheless explained that he wanted to split the project into “several texts” to keep only the most consensual aspects, for lack of an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
Emmanuel Macron wants a “gradual increase” of the SNU in “more territories”
“I don’t think we can make it compulsory” universal national service (UNS) in “the whole country overnight”also judged the Head of State, referring to a “logistical challenge”. Emmanuel Macron therefore wishes a “gradual increase” In “a few departments, then a little more”. “We must gradually go to more territories which will adopt it,” he insisted. In March, a Senate report recommended “stay” to the generalization of the SNU “in view of the uncertainties” of the project, particularly in terms of costs, “probably more than 2 billion euros”.
He promises “a major ecological restoration project for our schools”
In the field of education, Emmanuel Macron affirms that“iThere are too many schools that are thermal sieves, where children freeze them and then get too hot”. “We are going to renovate them”he promises. “We are going to launch a major ecological restoration project for our schools. We are going to put the funding on it to support the municipalities which cannot do it alone”, he added, without detailing an envelope or a precise timetable. The President had already announced in November his intention to take a “initiative” on the subject.
“Several questions” are in “reflection” on the functioning of the institutions
Confirming his desire to move forward on the subject of institutions, even though the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate believe that the project is not a priority for the time being, Emmanuel Macron affirmed that he was going to “submit a proposal”, “to see what there would be a way on”.
“I submit several questions for reflection”detailed the president, partly on “popular sovereignty”. “Should we open up or not the field of the referendum, of the referendum of shared initiative (RIP), should we have more proportionality in the Assembly, should we move towards a regulation of the assemblies which avoids blocking without going to the situation we experienced?he asks himself. “I am not in favor of the abolition of the post of Prime Minister”on the other hand decided the head of state.
“Marine Le Pen will come” to power “if we do not know how to meet the challenges of the country”
Emmanuel Macron also spoke on the political side, while his approval rating is at an all-time low, according to a poll published on Sunday. The President judges that “Marine Le Pen will arrive [au pouvoir] if we do not know how to respond to the challenges of the country and if we install a habit of lying or denial of reality”.
The Head of State, who claims not to have “lessons to receive” about it – because he has it “beaten twice” – advance that we “will never win” against the National Rally “to the game of the most populist and demagogue”but thanks to “work sites of reindustrialisation, ecology, order and the fight for our public services”.