For the new tenant of the Elysium, the first semester is over. The youngest president of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has closed the first 180 days of his delicate mandate, the one that immediately set out to profoundly reform France, in a period of slow recovery and with the threat - always very high Beyond the Alps – of terrorism. Precisely because the beginning was quite "aggressive", with many reforms made or in the pipeline, the popularity of Macron, elected almost unanimously in the ballot with Marine Le Pen, soon plummeted: worse than him, in the first months of the legislature, only his predecessor Hollande had done. Among the things done, the reform of the labor code, the 30% flat tax for capital gains, the university reform, the anti-terrorism law and the moralization of public life, one of the strong points of the campaign, must certainly be mentioned. electoral. As Les Echos, the leading French business newspaper, says, much remains to be done, but "what has been done so far, beyond the contents, sends a clear message to Germany: France is reformable". Here is the budget, in detail.
ALREADY IN PORT
- Work: the new Labor Code, highly contested by the unions, entered into force at the end of September. Among the main innovations there is a new approach to company relations with the unions, with the merger of the representatives and the absolute precedence of bargaining with the company, with respect to the general one of the category or with respect to the law (this is the case, for example, fixed-term contracts, which will now be negotiable with the employer). The law also reduces the possibility of appealing to the Labor Court (in short, it tends to protect the employer, also through the reduction of the terms for appeals), even if in return it increases the compensation for dismissal.
– Budget law: is in the pipeline, but has already brought with it three important reforms: the first is the abolition of the ISF, the solidarity tax on large fortunes (above 1,3 million euros), paid by over 300 French people and which to the State 4-5 billion. The ISF is replaced by the IFI, which stands for “property fortune tax”: therefore the word solidarity disappears, and the tax will be limited precisely to real estate, excluding for example shares on the stock exchange but also movable assets of great value such as yachts and luxury cars. Another novelty is the 30% flat tax for capital annuities, while from 1 January 2018 the increase in the CSG, i.e. the levy for social contributions, will also start, which rises to 9,2% for wage earners, even if it is compensated by the abolition of the sickness contribution and the unemployment contribution , which will be relieved from the paycheck. The government therefore estimates that gross wages will increase.
– School and university: the Government has identified some sensitive areas, defined by “reinforced priority education”, and in those areas in the first grade class there will be a maximum of 12 pupils. The university cycle has also been reformed, in particular by putting an end to the drawing of lots to access the most coveted universities.
– Terrorism and conflict of interest: the new security law makes identity checks and administrative searches easier, while on the moralisation of public life, or what we call conflict of interest, Macron - also riding the sensational own goal scored by his opponent François Fillon, who had hired his wife and children - has forbidden MPs from hiring members of their own families among their collaborators.
IN THE DOCKYARD
– Social policies: one of the main innovations in the works is the reform of theunemployment benefit, which should also be extended to outgoing and self-employed workers. At the moment, the resigning worker is entitled to the subsidy only in the event of "legitimate resignation": Macron would like to extend it to everyone, but only once every 5 years. The law is expected in spring 2018 and to finance it, the government aims to reduce unemployment, which according to the plans should be the consequence of the various reforms in progress.
– Companies: such as the one that will lower the corporate tax from 33,33% to 25%. However, according to rumors, this awaited step is expected only towards the end of the mandate, while the tax credit for competitiveness should arrive by 2019, a measure comparable to our concessions for Industry 4.0.
– First home tax: great workhorse of the electoral campaign, this measure aims to abolish the tax for the 80% of the French who currently pay it, obviously starting from the lowest brackets, and to significantly reduce it also for the remaining 20%. The reform will be spread over time, between 2018 and 2020.
ON THE HIGH SEAS
Promised reforms that appear to have stalled are:
– Pensions: Unlike his campaign opponents, Macron has never proposed raising or lowering the retirement age. The novelty, still pending, was supposed to be that of the "points pension", on the Swedish model.
– The maxi public investment plan from 50 billion, of which it is not yet known if and how it will ever be financed.
– Announced cuts in public spending for 60 billion, to be done above all through the reduction in the number of officials, which, however, has so far been of little significance.
– Healthcare: Macron had promised full reimbursement of treatment for hearing aids, glasses and dental prostheses. Still nothing on the table.
– Culture Bonus: inspired by the Italian experience, the €500 ticket for 18-year-olds is still on hold.
– MP reduction: the constitutional reform that would reduce the number of parliamentarians by a third and introduce a proportional quota in the electoral law is not yet on the table. Recourse to the referendum is not excluded, but when the popularity of the government has risen somewhat.
– Bioethics: It will not be easy, it seems, even to extend the right to assisted procreation to female couples.
– Europe: of the great revolution of continental governance, for which Macron had committed himself to a close axis with Berlin, for now there is not even a shadow.
