THE France’s support for Ukraine but also more national subjects such as the social discontent that is shaking the country or the purchasing power of the French or his decline in popularity. Emmanuel Macron has multiplied economic announcements in recent days, particularly in the field of reindustrialization.
The Head of State also spoke out on Sunday for the continuation of the tax cut on the middle classes. Emmanuel Macron answered questions from Gilles Bouleau this Monday evening on TF1. Here are the key takeaways from the president.
A door “open to train pilots” of Ukrainian fighters
“France’s strategy is simple: help Ukraine resist,” said Emmanuel Macron, who announced that France has “opened the door to train” Ukrainian fighter pilots “right now”. Asked about arms deliveries to Kiev, “we decided to deliver new ammunition and above all to build elements to train their troops, their battalions, and to repair the vehicles, the guns”, he specified, refusing to detail the promises made the day before, Sunday, when the head of state received his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. “We are going to deliver other equipment, other ammunition, other missiles,” added the President of the Republic.
Confident about investments
After receiving 200 big bosses of foreign multinationals this Monday, Emmanuel Macron is pleased that “for the fourth consecutive year, France is the most attractive country in Europe. “Yes there is violence, it is intolerable,” Emmanuel Macron told the bosses, including Elon Muskwho have seen the images of the demonstrations against the pension reform. But “the country is moving forward and continues to create,” said the president interviewed by TF1.
“I am confident that Tesla will make significant investments in France in the future”, launched, without further details, the boss of the pioneering company in electric cars, after being received in particular by the head of the State at the Elysée. The one who is also boss of SpaceX and majority shareholder of Twitter said he was “impressed by the welcome given by President Macron and the French government to the industry”.
Two billion euros in tax cuts for “the middle classes” by 2027
Emmanuel Macron assured that he wanted to “focus” two billion tax cuts on “the middle classes” by 2027, “when the budgetary trajectory allows it in this five-year period”. “In our budgetary trajectory, there are two billion tax cuts for households. These two billion, I asked the government to make proposals to me so that they focus on these middle classes,” he said.
The Head of State did not specify the measures envisaged. “I’ve asked the government to work on it, but I don’t want to close doors here because there may be smart things to do on some of the charges you pay, the contributions you pay when you’re employee. So this is what will allow people who work, who are middle class, to have in a way a greater amount of living for them, ”he underlined.
The government is preparing a text on the sharing of value for employees
Can’t companies be asked to raise wages? “We did everything to encourage things,” replied Emmanuel Macron who “encourages companies to have a social dialogue” in this direction. In addition, “we are going to submit a text on the sharing of value”, because an employee “is remunerated in several ways” and in particular “profit-sharing and participation”, and it is therefore “on this that the government will decide,” the president announced.
Food inflation will be “absorbed by the fall”
The Head of State also declared that he hoped that inflation on food products is “absorbed (…) by the fall”, aiming that there are “no exceptional margins” made by large retailers or manufacturers in this context. “The objective is that we absorb this inflation by the fall to, I hope, return to better known and more normal lands,” he said.
While inflation on supermarket shelves was again measured at nearly 15% over one year in April, Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to “get everyone back around the table a bit to try to lower certain prices to support our compatriots”.
“The country is moving forward” despite the dispute over pensions
“The country is moving forward” despite the challenge to the pension reform, assured Emmanuel Macron. “There was opposition in the street but it was calm and there was violence (…) and people who don’t want solutions. But that’s not France, it doesn’t say everything about the country and the country is moving forward and the country continues to create, ”said the Head of State. Emmanuel Macron repeated the word “advance” several times during the interview.
About the pension reform, the Head of State “assumes”. “Then the method is simple, as it is unpopular, everyone got out of the way, he pointed out. Including people who had campaigned in the bravado presidential elections behind the 65 years, “he continued pointing to elected officials The Republicans without naming them.
The president “rejects” the adjective of “contemptuous”
Some opponents of the policy led by Emmanuel Macron call it “contemptuous”. An adjective that he “does not like” and “that we put in all the sauces. “I challenge him,” he replies again. I have never seen anyone tell me that I am contemptuous. Sometimes people tell me “you are too hard”, “you are too determined”, sometimes others explain to you that we are not going far enough. We do not go into contact as I have since I have been involved in political life when we have contempt for people. »
“Real contempt is lying to people. In the position where I am, if I really despised the French, I would not try to speak to collective intelligence and do what is good for the country, he further argued. I will think of my apple. Do you think it’s good for my apple to carry difficult texts, to suffer and accept the unpopularity that goes with it? I am sometimes hard on evil, yes, contemptuous, I reject it. »