The Head of State spoke on Monday evening, three days after the partial validation by the Constitutional Council of the highly contested government text.
Closing a long complicated sequence in order to open others, more favorable for the executive. This is the objective pursued by Emmanuel Macron in delivering a speech on Monday, April 17, after the validation of most of the provisions of the pension reform by the Constitutional Council. For just under 15 minutes, the Head of State worked to outline the continuation of his second five-year term, emphasizing the “priority projects” already launched rather than making new announcements.
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Franceinfo summarizes the main points of this intervention by the President of the Republic.
Emmanuel Macron “regrets” the absence of “consensus” on pensions
Should we see a form of mea culpa on the method? Accused of not having heard the social anger that has been expressed since mid-January, Emmanuel Macron assumed the rapid promulgation and the spirit of the pension reform, while recognizing the unpopularity of the text. “However, is this reform accepted? Obviously not. Despite months of consultation, a consensus could not be found. I regret it and we must learn all the lessons”he conceded.
Towards the establishment of a “new pact for life at work”
Labor is the first of three “priority projects” that Emmanuel Macron wishes to lead, in order to “rebuild and regain the momentum of our nation”. Engage in the reform of the vocational high school, “bringing RSA beneficiaries back to work”… In addition to the avenues already explored, the President of the Republic declared that he wanted, as of Tuesday, “open, without any limits, without any taboos, a series of negotiations on essential subjects” work-related, in particular “improve the income of employees” And “better sharing of wealth”.
On the method, it seems to highlight the negotiation between social partners, more than a text decided by the government: “This new work life pact will be built in the weeks and months to come through social dialogue, and very concrete agreements, at national level but also as close as possible to the field, that trade unions and employers’ organizations will be able to find. “
Announcements on the fight against delinquency in May
For the second project, that of justice, Emmanuel Macron insisted on the work already started by the government since May 2022. “We will continue to recruit more than 10,000 magistrates and agents and we are in the process of creating 200 new gendarmerie brigades in our countryside. Fighting against all forms of delinquency and social or tax fraud will be at the heart of the government’s action , with strong announcements from May” he announced.
On the other hand, the Head of State remained vaguer on the reform of institutions, which was not completed during his first five-year term. For “fight against the persistent feeling that voting is no longer deciding”Emmanuel Macron will propose “main avenues for the functioning of our institutions to gain in efficiency and citizen participation”citing the recent convention on the end of life as an example.
The end of the congestion of the emergency services promised for the end of the year 2024
Referring to his third project, “that of progress”the President of the Republic insisted on his desire to tackle the crisis in public hospitals. “By the end of next year, we should have relieved all our emergency services”he explained of this symbol of a struggling health system, which he wants to see “deeply rebuilt”.
“By the end of this year, 600,000 chronically ill patients who do not have a primary care physician will have it”also affirmed the Head of State.
A “government roadmap” soon to be detailed, desired “coalitions”
During his speech, Emmanuel Macron did not explicitly announce that he was renewing his confidence in Elisabeth Borne, on the front line during this crisis. But the Head of State nevertheless stipulated that “the prime minister” was going to detail “next week” what constitutes “the roadmap of the government”. A “first review” will be drawn up around July 14, three months from now.
The objective is also to broaden the base of the presidential majority, which has been a wishful thinking since the spring of 2022. “I call on all the forces of action and good will: our mayors, our elected officials, our political forces, our unions… I intend to associate them better, by relaunching new coalitions and alliances from May, on the solid foundations of the National Council for Refoundation, as close as possible to the field” he announced.