A president who repents of some utterances and of not having understood from the beginning the weight of his responsibilities, but not of his choices: this is the Emmanuel Macron who for almost two and a half hours spoke in front of journalists in his first press conference officer at the Elysée, almost two years after his election. “I've asked myself several times if I've made a mistake in these two years and the answer is no: the path taken is correct, change must not be stopped, but more and better must be done”, this is the leitmotif of the speech by the French president, who first explains for an hour the four drivers who will guide the second half of the his mandate and then answers the questions of journalists, avoiding however to provide precise dates and figures but touching on all possible topics, from taxes to the environment, from institutional reforms to education, from work to immigration. "They have been difficult years - Macron claimed - but we have also achieved good results: employment has also recovered in the industrial sector, where it had been stagnant for ten years, and we are growing more than our European partners".
The words most used by the president were "man", "humanity", "humanism", testifying to an attempt at rapprochement with the citizens, after the ferocious protests of yellow vests and the three months of Grand Débat called precisely to listen to discontent and proposals: "It was an unprecedented experiment in Western democracies - said Macron -: I am in favor of popular participation but not of direct democracy, because there are often difficult decisions to make and it is up to those who govern to take responsibility". Available for dialogue, but firmly convinced in calling citizens to do their part as well: “Malaise must be respected and often derives from purchasing power, but sometimes also from a loss of collective identity, which must be rebuilt. We must also work and produce more, in order to then finance the solidarity that we all rightly desire”.
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS: DECENTRALIZATION AND ABOLITION OF ENA
The first point illustrated by Macron is that of a broad institutional reform, oriented towards the decentralization of power. “The French ask us this, I want to feel more represented. I have made some reflections and I confirm that I believe in the elected, in representative democracy. And above all in the mayors, who represent the face of the Republic in its daily life". For this the president wants strengthen the role of local autonomies and decentralize administrative power as much as possible, “but in a clear way, totally transferring some responsibilities and avoiding duplications with the central administration. There are too many people from Paris who decide the fate of the provinces without knowing them”. Macron has therefore announced a "territorial pact" on the Canadian model, with local public services in the 2.000 French cantons.
"High public officials do not resemble the society in which they live, there is no longer the meritocracy that existed a few decades ago": with these words Macron then introduced the delicate issue of ENA, the national school (also attended by himself) which churns out the representatives of the transalpine ruling class but which by now it has an outdated model, which appears more co-optive than meritocratic. The president clarified that he will desist from the goal announced during the election campaign of cutting 120.000 public officials, but he also confirmed the rumors about the reform of ENA: "I don't believe in small adjustments – explained the tenant of the Elysée -: it will be suppressed to found something that works better. The system for recruiting officials and managing their careers needs to be completely re-established. I did it, I'm attached to it, it was important, it's not bad in itself but it needs to be totally rethought. We need more modern training, linked to the academic world, including the international one, and as far as careers are concerned, it is not right or beneficial to guarantee a place for life. Officials must be motivated to ensure excellence for citizens”.
As for the reforms that would affect Parliament and the referendum, Macron confirmed that the government will pursue the goal of reducing the number of parliamentarians by 30% ("It could be 25% so as not to penalize regions that have few senators, but it does not change the substance "), Of introduce the proportional system also for the election of the Chamber of Deputies and to also bring that of the Senate to a 20% share, to comply with requests to simplify the popular initiative referendum proposals, which will have to be signed by 1 million citizens and will first pass to Parliament for scrutiny. Citizens will also be involved, starting in June, in a new body, the Citizen Participation Council, which will be made up of 150 citizens drawn by lot, to "revitalize democracy and represent civil society".
TAXES, SCHOOL, WORK AND PENSIONS
The second orientation that Macron wants to give to the last part of his mandate is that of "a new Humanism", as he repeats several times in the conference. "Man and justice must be put back at the center of the national project": and therefore the president first announced a tightening on tax evasion, claiming, however, the decision to abolish the tax on large fortunes. “In the meantime, it hasn't been abolished, because the law on real estate is still in force, but then it has encouraged investments in the real economy. I defend this reform, it is pragmatic, it will be corrected in 2020 only if we see that it has no positive effects”, reiterated the French Head of State, then announcing another big news: the transalpine equivalent of personal income tax will be reduced by a total value of around 5 billion, even if methods and rates were not specified at the press conference. The goal is to restore oxygen to the middle class and reduce inequalities. "The real inequality, however, is that at birth, so we need to act from childhood and we are doing it: the first 1.000 days of a person's life are decisive".
This is why the school plan will be relaunched in disadvantaged areas: after the canteen for all at 1 euro, Macron is now thinking of classes with no more than 24 pupils ("During my mandate, a school and not even a hospital will no longer be closed", he also said) and the retraining of teaching professions. "The fight against injustices is done with education and, obviously, with work", said the president who then returned to the controversy of the French who should work more, explaining his intentions better: "In France compared to other OECD countries people work for fewer years and work less throughout the year. We made some considerations. Holidays? We make a lot of them, more than in other countries, but I don't think it's right to reduce them. 35 hours? It is a theoretical reference, in fact already superseded with the Loi Travail which refers to the bargaining between company and union. Instead, I would intervene on the working age: compared to the past we live longer, therefore it is right to work more“. At the same time, however, Macron does not intend to back down from his promise not to raise the retirement age (62 years in France): “We will envisage a system of contribution quotas that will push workers to retire a few years later. And the minimum pension will be at least 1.000 euros a month”.
On the employment front, Macron has reaffirmed the objectives already achieved, which have led to simplification and favored hiring, confirming the goal of full employment by 2025: "By that time we plan to bring unemployment below 7%, we can easily do it. We have also exempted overtime from taxes, increased productivity bonuses and unemployment benefits will soon be law. Soon, as mentioned, income taxes will drop and I can also say that from 1 January 2020, pensions of less than 2.000 euros per month will be reindexed". How will all this be financed? Macron does not give figures but three guidelines: abolition of some tax niches for businesses (but it is not known which ones), more work and therefore more productivity, reduction of public spending, while not abolishing the famous 120.000 public officials ("No, but their work will be optimized and this will save us resources and time").
THE BIG CHANGES: STARTING WITH THE CLIMATE
"Big changes are scary, but they must be faced: in first place for urgency is the energy transition, but also the digital revolution and immigration". As far as the climate is concerned, Macron has always been at the forefront at a European level and has also tried to convince US President Donald Trump of the opportunity to embrace the cause of decarbonisation. In this case however, he mindful of the fact that the yellow vest protests were triggered by the fuel tax, the transalpine president has deemed it necessary to involve the citizens: for this reason Parliament will accept the proposals born of a commission of 150 drawn by lot and a Council for ecological defense will also be established, which will be attended by the ministers involved and the major operators in the sector .
On the issue of climate change and also of digital, Macron has launched the slogan of a 2025 Agenda to establish strategies and funding. On the other hand, the European partners were not spared barbs on immigration: “To welcome, you need a home, and therefore borders. I am for inclusive patriotism: I believe in international openness but the Dublin rules no longer work and must be changed. We must cooperate with Africa and Schenghen must also be rethought: it does not exist that some countries refuse to welcome migrants, but neither does it exist that other countries do not defend their borders".
WHAT MUST BE SAVED
Finally, the fourth and final point is dedicated to the things to be safeguarded and protected. First of all, the family: “It has changed a lot over the decades, the birth rate has slowed down and needs to be sustained. And then we must protect single-parent families, single mothers or separated mothers who remain alone with their children: the state must make up for the incivility of their former partners,” Macron declared. “I also believe in our social fabric, so all forms of association must be helped. Compulsory civil service it will be law, we need it”. In the end, the secular state: “Secularism remains a pillar, according to the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State. It is about guaranteeing the freedom to believe or not to believe, living with respect. However, the issue is not so much secularism as the politicization of religion, as happens with Islam. We will be very tough against all these forms because they are a threat to the Republic".
