It was standing in the dark night, in front of the flags of the Olympic nations in the gardens of the Elysée, that Emmanuel Macron chose, Sunday December 31, to pronounce his wishes to the French for the year 2024. A year of ” determination, of choice, of regeneration, of pride”, hammered the head of state in a serious tone, as if to counteract the wear and tear of his power after a year of crises. The year 2024 will be, he promises, “a French vintage”.
After six and a half years at the head of state, but struggling to “act again, in the interest of the nation”the President of the Republic draws a gloomy observation of a France tormented in 2023 by external threats and internal fractures. “The fear of the return of war, of decommissioning, of loss of control are there,” he lists, citing the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and paying tribute to the 41 French people murdered during the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7.
Inflation which makes everything more difficult » And “the divisions”, “ gestures of hatred, sometimes violence”, also weaken “the cohesion of the nation”, he adds, in an allusion to the riots last summer which stunned the country, without the government offering, until now, any answers deemed convincing by the French.
“I of course know the impatience, dare I say that I share it, even if the first changes are visible”, he moves forward, ready to do “more and faster”and convinced that “ in this context of crises the best can be born.” The President of the Republic brushed aside the political crisis that has been affecting his camp since the vote on the “immigration” law on December 19, with the votes of the National Rally, at the cost of the resignation of the Minister of health, Aurélien Rousseau, and a discomfort shared by other members of the government and a host of deputies from the majority. He preferred to boast “strength of character, a virtue in difficult times “.
The term “rearmament” used seven times
While this law borrows from the “national preference” defended by the far right, by distinguishing between foreign and national workers to pay social benefits, or imposes a deposit on foreign students, Emmanuel Macron presents it as necessary to “fight against smugglers and illegal immigration” And “ better integrate those who are intended to remain on our soil: refugees, students, researchers, workers.”
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