Interviewed on TF1 on May 15, Emmanuel Macron promised tax cuts for the middle classes and confirmed the shipment of weapons to Ukraine. He also mentioned the pension reform and the purchasing power of the French.
Emmanuel Macron slipped a few announcements during his interview on the set of 20 Hours of TF1, Monday, May 15. A new step in the Head of State’s strategy to turn the page on the pension crisis? Certainly, yet among the topics discussed, between the war in Ukraine and economic measures, the President did not escape a few questions on pension reform. As one might expect, Emmanuel Macron did not back down, but reaffirmed the need for such a bill and even defended himself from being “contemptuous”. The sequence on pensions is not, however, the one that was accompanied by announcements, the President of the Republic preferred to emphasize the promise of a tax cut and that of the reindustrialization of the country already drawn during the hours preceding the broadcast of the interview.
Emmanuel Macron’s announcements are intended to seduce, but they could, if they are not implemented, disappoint the French again, still shaken by the promulgation of the pension reform. The opposition has already criticized the head of state’s speech. Marine Le Pen accused the President of the Republic of making a “reality denial” while the first secretary of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure wrote on Twitter: “Always the same old story. To be unpopular would be worth a patent of courage. More than unpopular Macron is in the minority. He despises 9 out of 10 workers, all the unions and the National Assembly”. The ads are no more popular: Eric Ciotti considers the tax cut “ridiculous” when François Ruffin regretted on BFMTV that nothing was offered for salaries.
Emmanuel Macron’s interview opened on the war in Ukraine and more specifically on the aid given by France to kyiv. Logic the day after the meeting of the Head of State with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. The man from the Elysée assured him: we must “help Ukraine to resist” and this involves sending weapons – Caesar guns, armored vehicles and light tanks – and ammunition, but he took care to recall that “we are not waging war on Russia. […] We are not delivering weapons that would make it possible to reach Russian soil” such as fighter planes. Promises were made between the two men and France pledged to train Ukrainian soldiers, including pilots, but also to help repair current weapons.
It was Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that caught the eye after his appearance on TF1: the tax cut of 2 billion euros which should mainly concern the middle classes, that is to say “French women and the French who work hard” and who can no longer cope because of the increase in the cost of living and wages that do not evolve. Workers earning between 1,500 and 2,500 euros would essentially be targeted. However, the President did not make any progress on the implementation of this reduction, calling on the government to work on this measure in order to make proposals to him. Regarding inflation, he would like to see it subside within the next few months in the food sector. He indicated that he wanted to relaunch negotiations with the major retail chains by putting “pressure on the major retail groups when we realize that they are playing a little on the margins”.
Impossible to evade the subject of pension reform and on this point Emmanuel Macron has not changed his mind. He maintains that “the only way is to work a little longer”. Not only defending his reform, the politician responded to criticism by challenging critics who deemed him “contemptuous”. He also reassessed the opposition to the reform pointing out that strikes took place mainly in the public sector and not in the private sector. If he recognized the opposition to the text of the law, he denounced “violence” on the part of “extreme”. “That’s not France, it doesn’t say everything about the country,” assured the head of state. “The method, I’ll tell you, it’s simple as it is unpopular, everyone got away with it,” said the President, who pointed to the right.
After the pension reform, Emmanuel Macron gave his support to his Prime Minister. “I am very proud to have appointed Elisabeth Borne a year ago,” he said. “Elisabeth Borne has, over the past year, passed a number of difficult laws: for renewable energies, for nuclear power, to reform unemployment insurance, for pensions”, detailed the President.
Emmanuel Macron began a new economic sequence in early May by working for the reindustrialization of the country. Monday, May 15, the day the interview was recorded and broadcast, the Head of State was present at the Choose France summit, a meeting of foreign investors to convince them to do business in France. The subject is important for the one who assures that “France is the most attractive country in Europe for the fourth consecutive time”. The President announced 13 billion euros of foreign investment in France and more than 8,000 jobs in the field.