The firing window is reduced. Nine months before the presidential election of 2022, there is little time for the government to praise voters on the merits of the recovery plan, a gigantic device intended to restart the economy after the crisis, with a total of 100 billion dollars. euros over three years. Adopted in the fall of 2020, this plan was hit by the second wave of Covid-19, then the following ones, and, despite the sums committed, many French people did not realize the extent or the effects. But time is running out for the executive: from 1er October, a duty of reserve applies to government communication, six months before the election.
Matignon therefore intends to mark the spirits at the start of the school year with a media “bomb carpet” – a campaign “Carpet bombing”, to use the term used by some. Nearly 10 million euros would be mobilized to mark the spirits, with, in particular, television spots celebrating the first anniversary of the plan. Objective : highlight measures for youth employment, and let it be known that SMEs and “Territories” have benefited from measures that strengthen the country’s sovereignty and reindustrialization.
“In people’s minds, the recovery plan benefits large groups, we explain to Bercy. We have to show that these are very small businesses and SMEs, and that it is happening in the territories. ” Themes that resonate in public opinion, after eighteen months of crisis which highlighted the dependence of the French economy on a small number of countries in industrial matters.
A real political issue
At each trip, the ministers will therefore be instructed to talk about the companies and administrations in their area that have benefited from the funds from the recovery plan, specifying the number of SMEs assisted, while promoting the “France relaunch” label, which is supposed to distinguish this plan more clearly of the future “investment plan” wanted by Emmanuel Macron, which must be detailed at the start of the school year.
For the government, there is a real political stake here. Since the summer of 2020, subjects not directly linked to the Covid-19 epidemic have struggled to grab the attention of the public. However, the sums deployed as part of the recovery plan are considerable, even if they add up to very different expenses, and often announced over time.
A hybrid economic object, the plan was, in effect, both to boost the economy in the short term and “Prepare France for 2030”, around three mainstays, each with a third of the budget: ecological transition (renovation of buildings, infrastructure, etc.), competitiveness (lower taxes, support for industry), employment and social cohesion (youth plan, Ségur de la santé…).
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