The Minister of Education and the RN mayor of Perpignan clashed in the Grand Jury of LCI on Sunday April 17. On the program: purchasing power, fuel prices, economy, referendums, sailing.
The first subject discussed for what will remain as one of the only debates in this race for the presidency of the Republic, was on purchasing power, the main theme of the campaign. Louis Alliot explained that he was for a “reduction of VAT to 5.5%”, which “would save between 15 and 30 euros per family” and added that it will be “an immediate measure for the time of this crisis. “In return, Jean-Michel Blanquer counted on a reduction in taxes, a basic pension for all at 1,100 euros and criticized the program of the National Rally, which, according to him “is not financed”. The mayor of Perpignan then retorted: “We know the financing of Emmanuel Macron: 600 billion in debt. We, the measure is financed by the penalty on stock market speculation. It’s a small effort for those who make money in the stock market.
Then came the question of fuels, another major subject, especially with the Ukrainian crisis. The Minister declared that “the measures taken by the government have made it possible to lower fuel prices by 15 cents” and that the latter “thinks that prices must be blocked and in the future we want to lower them. “On the RN side, the critics have rocketed:” The 12 billion do not evaporate. The price of gasoline was at the origin of the movement of yellow vests, so urgent measures must be taken. The check for 200 euros was useless. For those who travel 30 kilometers every month, the price of gasoline is over 100 euros. »
Jean-Michel Blanquer replied: “We have set up an energy shield which limits increases. We save energy as much as possible by promoting renewable energies. “For his part, the mayor RN said he was falsely taken aback to see that “Mr. Macron waited the two rounds to talk about ecology” before saying that it was “pure electoralism” by criticizing his wind turbine project ” while at the same time [il a] closed Fessenheim. The minister replied that the outgoing president “has been talking about ecology since 2017” and that these are “sometimes technical measures, which cannot be seen [mais qui] will have lasting effects. »
Back to school uniform? Alliot is for, Blanquer why not, on a voluntary basis
The subject of reducing wages between business leaders and employees – the two men being more or less in agreement – was discussed, before the Citizens’ Initiative Referendum (RIC) entered the debate. Spearhead of the RN, Louis Alliot affirmed that there “will not be” a referendum on the death penalty, while specifying that this method of voting “is the very essence of the Fifth Republic. “Castigating” the last great referendum, on the 2005 Constitution [où] people on the right and on the left voted against but which was reintroduced by Nicolas Sarkozy when the people were against”, for the mayor of Perpignan, the RN is “in this Gaullist vision which binds the head of state to the people . »
For Jean-Michel Blanquer, this is another story: “The referendum cannot be pulled out like a magic wand at every moment. We get lost there. Every day it changes. It’s democratic Russian roulette and if by chance you had the controls, the next day, with article 11 of the Constitution, you will divide the country. »
Another hot topic: secularism and the wearing of the veil. The Minister recalled Emmanuel Macron’s point of view on this question: “In public services, the principle of secularism is equivalent to neutrality, so no ostentatious signs, this is also true for minors. In the public space, it is freedom of dress. There is an issue of civility with what falls under the law and making a distinction on what we want as a society. »
The vice-president of the RN retorted that “more than 65% of French people are against [le voile] » and that even Muslims – practicing or not – « talk about uniforms, about Islamic pressures which push women to wear the veil and put pressure in certain neighborhoods for this. “He then continued:” The Muslims of France, showcase of the UOIF, call to vote for Emmanuel Macron. We must differentiate between those who want to push an ideology in our neighborhoods and our schools, which must be constrained. In Algeria, movements have fought against social pressure to stop wearing it and in France we are doing the opposite. »
Support LREM agreed by saying that “Islamist pressure exists, of course and Emmanuel Macron has never said the opposite”, taking as an example “the law against separatism. In the field of education, we have done a lot to ensure that secularism is respected. You, you want to ban the veil in the street, so you will mobilize the police and that brings together the Republican Muslims. We enter into an untenable casuistry. “He kicked in touch on the sequence of Emmanuel Macron in Strasbourg in which he exchanged with a veiled woman who calls herself “feminist. »
The education component will have been tackled very quickly, lack of time. Blanquer defended the government’s record, particularly on the classrooms that remained open during the Covid crisis. Alliot said he was “in favor of the uniform”, the same for his opponent, but “on a voluntary basis. »