Grandstand. The “yellow vests” movement, the health crisis caused by Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have put the State and its strategic intervention back at the heart of economic dynamics. For the past two years, proactive public policies have aimed to limit the social consequences of the health crisis and to revive the economy through public spending – not without success, since the French economy is now rather prosperous, whether in jobs (unemployment rate at 7.4%) or growing (7% in 2021). The consequences of the economic sanctions that Western countries have to impose on Russia will lead the government to take new measures aimed at protecting household purchasing power and business activity.
The interventionist role of the State therefore has a bright future ahead of it. It responds there to a will of public opinion, which is found very assertive in the countries of Northern Europe and Iberia which, like Sweden, Denmark, Portugal and, of course, of Germany, have returned to social democracy. However, it is clear today that no candidate for the French presidential election embodies and can not truly claim this political filiation. How to explain this paradox ?
One of the main concerns of the French today concerns purchasing power, despite the fact that the figures establish an average increase during the five-year term of Emmanuel Macron. There is thus today, in a substantial part of the electorate, a strong contradiction between the real state of the economy and the perception of the political action taken. Economics research shows that people are more sensitive to losses than to gains. The question of purchasing power would therefore be more a question of a political order than an economic one. A large proportion of French people no longer trust the state and its intervention, in other words the welfare state, to improve their material conditions.
Sharing of responsibilities
It is therefore necessary to rethink the political philosophy supposed to embody public action in the economy. The medium and long-term development of the French economy cannot be considered independently of environmental issues, health requirements, questions of reindustrialization and redistributive logics. For a strategic State to assert itself and for the French to perceive its economic interest, collectively and individually, it is necessary to think together about the growth that we want to be strong but inclusive, the social development of the people we want to emancipate. and unifying, and the preservation of our natural ecosystems that we want to be sustainable.
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