In an interview with the daily “L’Opinion”, Emmanuel Macron has one priority: to win back the middle classes… The editorial by Renaud Dély.
Objective: to win back some of the French. And to achieve this, the Head of State promises them new tax cuts. A classic instrument, especially at a time when the job market is doing well, but inflation is eating away at purchasing power. Since the executive bases wage increases on the goodwill of business leaders, it only has the tax tool available.
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These tax breaks will therefore be intended to “those who are too rich to be helped“by allowances, and”not rich enough to live well”he explains to opinion. Emmanuel Macron displays the objective of lowering the taxes of the categories which earn between 1500 and 2500 euros monthly to allow them to live better from their work. Work, effort, merit, the Head of State rehashes this speech, but he hardly convinces these famous middle classes, because the pension reform has gone through this.
The middle classes are at the heart of the democratic contract
The middle classes have dropped Emmanuel Macron over the social crisis. Concerned primarily by the postponement of the legal age, this France of assets has often participated in demonstrations, even in medium-sized towns. The divorce with the most precarious and the working classes is older. As a result, in opinion polls, the head of state’s support base is now reduced to the upper classes and retirees. However, it is the assets that made the re-election of Emmanuel Macron last year. Moreover, it is always the support of the middle classes that determines the outcome of the presidential election. In his time, Lionel Jospin had already granted them tax breaks. Nicolas Sarkozy relied on tax-exempt overtime. Conversely, the tax increases at the start of his five-year term had weighed on François Hollande.
The rest of the five-year term therefore undoubtedly depends on the attitude of the middle classes. If he wants to relaunch his mandate, it is a political emergency for Emmanuel Macron to try to win them back. And then beyond that, the middle classes are at the heart of the democratic contract. In a period of civic crisis, where elected officials are increasingly targeted by the most radical currents, the executive must prevent the middle classes from seceding in turn. Whatever the cost, or almost, for public finances.