The French government will present a roadmap with three priorities of which the progress will be assessed on Bastille Day, President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised speech where he again defended his newly adopted pension law despite ongoing opposition in the streets.
Macron spoke to the French on TV Monday evening to address ongoing opposition to the pension reform signed into law at the end of last week.
The “changes are necessary”, the French president said on TV, adding that while he “regretted” the lack of consensus on the reform, it will nevertheless come into force this autumn.
“The answer can be neither in immobilism nor in extremism,” Macron also said.
In a hope to leave the pension debacle behind, Macron said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is to present “a roadmap, as early as next week” that will be based on three priorities set by him.
First, Macron wants to reform the job market and have employer and workers’ unions negotiate salary increases and agree on lifelong learning and the sharing of wealth within companies, among other things.
The government, for its part, will have the task of reforming vocational training and criteria for the RSA – financial aid for unemployed people, without unemployment benefits or with low resources. He added that this would continue the country’s reindustrialisation and “better accompany” beneficiaries in their search for employment.
In his TV presentation, the French president also highlighted the priority of recruiting more within the justice system and law enforcement, adding that the government would work towards fighting irregular migration while ensuring a better reception of migrants. Strong announcements” are to be made shortly on the fight against tax and social fraud, he added.
Macron also said he wants citizens to be better involved in decision-making, for example, in the form of consultations such as the “citizens’ conventions” on climate change and end-of-life matters.
Thirdly, the French president also indicated that action would be taken to improve public services, particularly in the currently under-resourced education and health sectors. At the same time, the government will also unveil an “ecological planning” by summer, he added.
Macron’s opponents were quick to criticise the president’s speech.
“On what planet does Emmanuel Macron live?” the new secretary general of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, told LCI in an interview. The reform represents “two years of life [..] for millions of employees” and has “no economic urgency”.
According to her, the president’s projects are not concrete and are even divisive, particularly with regard to reform vocation training and financial aid for those not working or with low resources.
“The keys to ending the crisis are in the president’s hand”, said Binet, whose inter-union group called for a referendum, though this was without success.
Faced with the “anger” expressed in the streets, Macron declared that “no one can remain deaf to this demand for social justice and the renovation of our democratic life.”
With the government having no plans to reshuffle, Macron is proposing to have the “first assessment” of his proposed roadmap on 14 July.
In the meantime, and following weeks of intense travelling to meet other heads of state, France’s very own is expected to come back in contact with the French on home turf starting this week.
To face global challenges such as climate change and “technological revolutions”, Macron has also called on the French to be “animated” by the “spirit of responsibility”.
(Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr)
Source: euractiv.com
