Arthur de Laborde // Photo credits: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
During his traditional televised New Year’s Eve address, the Head of State expressed his wishes for the French and promised a “year of determination” during his 13-minute speech. Wishes which divided the political class and sparked some criticism.
Emmanuel Macron promised to make 2024 a “year of determination” and to continue to “act” despite the accumulating difficulties, during his wishes where he celebrated the expected “French pride”, from the Olympics to the reopening of Our Lady. On the other hand, the president did not make a concrete political announcement, for which the opposition did not fail to criticize him. On both the left and the right, the president’s opponents denounce above all an exercise in self-satisfaction on the part of the head of state.
“I found his wishes quite sinister. There is a scent of the end of his reign. The words follow one another. There is no tenderness for the French, no compassion, no hope. France is torn by social conflicts, bruised by terrorist attacks, humiliated when thugs take over neighborhoods. I think that the president is really in denial of reality. And that is surely why the French no longer trust him today ‘today’, reports Guilhem Carayon, spokesperson for the Les Républicains party.
A new meeting in January
On the contrary, in the ranks of the majority, some insist that Emmanuel Macron has drawn a path for 2024 and that the president should clarify it in the coming days: “I think he has drawn a course for 2024, but he It seems to me that in January, he will have to say how we should do it. Because the real debate behind it is how we are going to continue to reform this country for the interest of the French and with what majority. And I think that This will be the subject of his speech in January or early February,” said Renaissance MP for Hérault, Patrick Vignal.
Emmanuel Macron has actually promised a meeting with the nation in January. While the hypothesis of a reshuffle agitates the majority, the president’s entourage confirms that there will be no council of ministers this week. The next government meeting at the Elysée will take place on January 10.