French President Emmanuel Macron demonstrates his understanding of power.
(Photo: AP)
Paris At the beginning of his term in office, French President Emmanuel Macron wanted to break with old traditions. The TV interview after the military parade on the French National Day on July 14 seemed outdated to him. Shortly after his re-election, however, he answered questions from journalists after the parade on Thursday.
After the general election in June, in which Macron’s government lost an absolute majority in the National Assembly, the president has been weakened. He must now show creative will.
First it was about the Ukraine war. Because of this experience, one must continue to invest in the military in France. “The army’s budget will not decrease,” he promised. This is also a European project. “We have strengthened the Europe of Defense.”
“We must prepare to do without Russian gas”
He defended the sanctions in the Ukraine war, even if this leads to an increase in energy prices. “Russia uses the energy like a weapon,” he explained. That’s why the prices go up.
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Russia also uses food as a weapon. “We have to prepare ourselves to manage without Russian gas.” France is preparing for the coming winter with reserves so that there are no energy bottlenecks. “Others like Germany are less well prepared. You have to help them,” he explained.
Macron emphasized that the energy transition must be accelerated in the face of drought, heat waves and forest fires. France will promote renewable energies such as sun and wind.
Two of the four coal-fired power plants have been closed. For the others, the running time is only slightly extended to guarantee energy security. “Nuclear power is a permanent solution”, he confirmed his decision for an energy mix with 50 percent nuclear power and 50 percent renewable energy sources. “We need a European energy market,” he continued. Otherwise there will be power outages.
In France, he promised further support for people who have to drive to work by car. He wanted to reassure the French. As everywhere, purchasing power and inflation are the big issues.
Macron therefore wants to continue the fight against unemployment in the coming years. At the end of his term of office, the unemployment rate should be five percent, currently it is seven percent. The minimum wage should continue to rise.
Macron wants to raise the retirement age
The pension, which was a big issue in the election campaign, was also discussed. “We need to move the retirement age to 65,” Macron reiterated. However, the retirement age must be raised slowly, four months a year. They don’t want to raise taxes, so they have to work longer. Macron looks at the state budget: “We must not increase the debt any further.”
Asked about the lack of a majority in the National Assembly, Macron explained with surprising ease that he was not afraid that his projects would be blocked as a result. “The French trusted me by re-electing me as President.”
Commentators in France stressed after the interview that not much was left of his major reform project. But that seemed to be calculation, because Macron has already mentioned the planned reforms to the labor market and pensions. He tried to reassure the French that, despite the war in Ukraine and possible gas shortages, politics would set the tone. Instead of playing the militant president or aloof “Jupiter” as before, he now acted a little like the father of the nation.
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