Uan hour and a half of general policy speeches before the National Assembly for confirmation: for Elisabeth Borne and Emmanuel Macron, the working basis is the presidential program of the Head of State. It is from the campaign proposals of the Head of State that the government intends to try to move forward, “text by text”. Even if, of course, the Prime Minister promised to “restore meaning and virtue to the word compromisefor too long forgotten in our political life”.
For long minutes, the host of Matignon, who is playing his survival at his post, shelled the measures of the president’s program, insisting on the importance of “the value of work” and the return to full employment in the field. Economic and Social. Refounding of the school or vocational high school, “solidarity at source” for the payment of social assistance, public service for early childhood, fight against medical deserts, better integration of RSA holders, nothing has been forgotten. A consultation will be launched in September “to fight against medical deserts” through better coordination between the actors.
I don’t believe in downsizing.(Elisabeth Borne)
Elisabeth Borne defends solutions that will be adapted territory by territory. On the method, she promises to consult, consult, consult, resuscitating in passing the National Council for Refoundation. “More than ever, we will carry out each reform in consultation with the trade unions and employers’ organizations,” she swore. A “transpartisan commission” will be launched “at the start of the school year” to reflect on the future of the institutions.
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Elisabeth Borne also emphasized the necessary ecological transition, she who is in charge of “planning” on the subject. She also claims a certain “radicalism”, rather than the policy of small steps carried out until now. “We will be the first major ecological nation to get out of fossil fuels,” she said, using the formula of the head of state. For this, it projects “a balanced energy mix between renewable energies and nuclear”. However, she does not “believe[t] not for a moment does this go through degrowth”. Sign that she does not care too much to flirt with the left of the hemicycle?
“We will be the first major ecological nation to get out of fossil fuels”, insists @Elisabeth_Borne.
—LCP (@LCP) July 6, 2022
> “We will accelerate the deployment of renewable energies and invest in nuclear power with the construction of new reactors”. #DirectAN pic.twitter.com/np5WCMA4GJ
This speech ultimately included few announcements, except for an “in-depth reform” of the Disabled Adult Allowance. “We will start from the principle of deconjugalization,” she said, which was demanded by both Les Républicains and Nupes. The allowance should therefore no longer depend – or only for a small part – on household income, but on the beneficiary alone. A concession to the opposition, even if Emmanuel Macron had paved the way for this measure during his campaign by responding to the questioning of a disabled person.
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The State will buy back the shares it lacks in EDF
Elisabeth Borne also decided in favor of the abolition of the Contribution on the added value of companies (CVAE) from the 2023 finance law, a priori in full. The track of spreading it over time is therefore ruled out, despite the budgetary cost of such a measure, nearly 8 billion euros. The Prime Minister also confirmed that the State was going to buy 100% of EDF, whereas it currently only holds 85%. And this to finance the development of new nuclear reactors, the EPRs.
It reaffirmed its desire to lead the pension reform. “Our social model, she noted, is a paradox: both the most generous and where we work the shortest time”. It is therefore in the name of “the prosperity of our country and the sustainability of our pay-as-you-go system” that she justifies that “we will have to work gradually a little longer”. However, she was careful not to mention the decline in the retirement age to 65 or 64 years. “The reform” is not tied up, it is not to be taken or left”, she tried to reassure, promising to lead “in consultation with the social partners by associating the parliamentarians most in possible upstream”. Élisabeth Borne promises that she will be “not uniform”. A way of suggesting that those who started working early can leave before. The former Minister of Labor also insisted on the fact that working conditions should be improved so that many are not broken at the end of their careers.
“Our country needs a reform of its pension system, which will take into account long careers and hardship”, confirms @Elisabeth_Borne, provoking boos from the opposition. “We will have to work gradually a little longer.”#DirectAN pic.twitter.com/6Ru1KfKKxE
—LCP (@LCP) July 6, 2022
Elisabeth Borne also wanted to warn about the state of the country’s public finances as she prepares to draw her bill on purchasing power. She still refuses any tax increase. “Today, we must find clear prospects for improving our public accounts,” she considered. A “duty towards future generations”. She acknowledged that “because of the ongoing war, our economic growth will be weaker” while “the debt burden is increasing” with the rise in interest rates. This did not prevent it from maintaining its objectives of restoring accounts. “In 2026, we must start reducing the debt and in 2027 bring the deficits below 3%”, she reaffirmed. A way of appealing to the responsibility of the oppositions.