Three weeks before the first round of the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron descended into the arena. Thursday, March 17, the outgoing president, candidate for re-election, presented his program – around thirty measures – during a press conference at the Docks de Paris, in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis).
>> Find the presentation of Emmanuel Macron’s program in our live
Reform of the RSA, legal retirement age at 65, transformation of Pôle emploi, fight against inequalities… Emmanuel Macron developed his project for more than an hour and a half, which he estimates at “50 billion euros” by 2027 and “15 billion tax cuts for businesses and households”. The body of its program, a hundred measures, will be detailed in a 24-page booklet which will be sent by post to some 6 million households this weekend.
Franceinfo summarizes for you what to remember from the proposals of the Head of State.
School and health: Emmanuel Macron’s “two major projects”
“Changing the method collectively.” Emmanuel Macron assured that school and health would be “two major projects” of his second five-year term, if re-elected, by promising a “new method” based on “wide consultation”. As part of'”a new pact for teachers”, “it will be necessary to continue to increase salaries significantly”which will be related to “the definition of new missions”according to Emmanuel Macron. Measures will be taken to ensure the “replacement of absent teachers because we owe our students and their parents all the teaching hours”.
In the field of health“we must succeed in going much further, faster and stronger”in particular by strengthening “the prevention policy”, “the simplification of the hospital and its governance” and the improvement of “access to emergency care”. Emmanuel Macron wishes to recruit “50,000 nurses and caregivers” in nursing homes and strengthen “controls to be able to fight against inhuman and degrading practices”. The Head of State also undertakes to organize “Massive reinforcement in medical deserts with occasional hotlines in the least endowed territories, the development of teleconsultations, more regulation of installation…”
Reform of the RSA, retirement at 65, one-stop shop… His proposals for work
“We have to work more”, Hammered Emmanuel Macron. The latter aims, if re-elected, to “full employment” within five years, thanks to reforms “promoting the return to work” unemployed people. An objective “reachable” given the decline in unemployment since 2017, he said. To achieve this, the candidate proposes a new reform of unemployment insurance and a transformation of Pôle emploi, renamed “France Travail”, whose logic will be that of the one-stop shop.
Emmanuel Macron also wants a reform of the RSA with “a better balance of rights and duties” and “the obligation to devote 15 to 20 hours a week” to an activity facilitating professional integration. “The beneficiaries of the RSA were in a way the victims of our poor collective organization and our nation organized itself first by dividing skills”deplored the outgoing president, considering that “no one considers that [la] dignity is recognized, respected, with a benefit”. Emmanuel Macron has also pledged to pay social assistance “to the source”automatically, which according to him would benefit the “20 million French people” who receive the RSA, the activity bonus, housing aid or family allowances.
The outgoing president confirmed his wish, as had already been mentioned by the press, to gradually raise the legal retirement age to 65. He recorded the abandonment of his 2017 reform which had not been able to see the light of day with the emergence of the pandemic.
Renovation of housing, energy mix… Its proposals for the environment
Emmanuel Macron then pleaded for a massive investment in favor of the agricultural and productive independence of France. He thus wants a law for the training and installation of farmers in order to renew the generations. The candidate also proposes to invest 30 billion euros in the sectors of the future.
With regard to energy independence, it sets itself the objective of“to be the first major nation to emerge from dependence on gas, carbon and coal”. He recalled the means implemented for this: six new nuclear reactors and the study of eight new ones, solar power multiplied by ten and the construction of 50 wind farms at sea. He also wants to develop sectors 100% French companies in wind, solar and electric vehicles. The candidate also undertakes to renovate 700,000 homes per year.
Generalization of Universal National Service, increase in reservists… His proposals in terms of defense and citizenship
“We must continue to gain flexibility and adaptability for our armies.” Emmanuel Macron began his press conference with his proposals on defense and citizenship. He wants so “remobilize the various levers of commitment”. This requires a generalization of the Universal National Service (SNU), but also by “an increase in reservists, which will be doubled for the military”. The outgoing President also proposes to “to be able to put in place a civil mobilization plan to strengthen our resilience”which according to him “will go through a strengthening of the nation’s strategic stocks, through an inventory of the skills of French volunteers to be mobilized in the event of a serious crisis, but also of the capacities of key companies”.
The candidate also wishes “that we can continue the generalization of civic service” For the young, “which here too comes to consolidate and strengthen the resilience of the nation, [pour] better defend ourselves in the face of crises through a military engagement of internal security but also civil”.
Help for single mothers, minimum retirement… His proposals on social
The outgoing president then developed a whole series of aids and reforms for specific categories of the population. He has, for example, promised, if re-elected, aand “50% increase in the support allowance for single mothers”, from 116 to 174 euros per child, and the creation of a “enforceable right to child custody”. He also wants to reduce inheritance tax and lower contributions for the self-employed, by an amount of 550 euros per year for a person with an income equivalent to the minimum wage.
Emmanuel Macron also confirmed the abolition of the audiovisual license fee and announced the reform of the time savings account. The candidate also detailed a whole series of measures with regard to seniors. The minimum pension for a full career will be increased to 1,100 euros for retirees. “A very ambitious reform for autonomy” will also be conducted in the event of re-election. On the model of my Prim’Renov, the candidate promises my Prim’Adapt in order to adapt his accommodation to his level of autonomy.
In addition, Emmanuel Macron has closed the door to the establishment of surrogacy. On the end of life, he proposes a “citizen convention” before a hypothetical examination by Parliament.
Recruitment, reforms… His proposals on the sovereign
This is the last part of his project: “the republican pact”. The candidate notably mentioned a future orientation and programming law for the Ministry of the Interior with the creation of 200 gendarmerie brigades, the doubling of the presence of the internal security forces or the recruitment of 1,500 cyber-patrolmen. In terms of justice, Emmanuel Macron wants to hire 8,500 magistrates and justice personnel. Regarding “border control”the outgoing president wants a system “which will make the refusal of asylum worth the obligation to leave French territory”. He also wants “refounding the republican integration model” and proposes, for example, that long-term residence permits be conditional on a French exam and employment integration.
On the institutional aspect, which he confessed to not having succeeded in implementing his project for lack of political agreement on the subject, Emmanuel Macron promised “a cross-party commission”. This committee will aim to “renovate our institutions”. The candidate notably said to himself always “in favor of more proportionality”.