French president pledges €5bn in tax cuts but...

Almost two-thirds of the public (63%) found him “unconvincing”, a Harris Interactive/Epoka poll found.

The Grand Débat process of nationwide debates on topical issues was introduced by Mr Macron partly to ease the dissatisfaction which laun­ched the gilets jaunes movement.

His speech, postponed due to the Notre-Dame fire, covered topics including schools, taxes, pensions, voting and poverty.

He said the gilets jaunes caused him to wonder if he had taken the wrong measures but he believes he has not.

There are half a million extra jobs, including in industry where they had been in decline, more investment, and economic growth is greater than in many neighbouring states.

His announcements include:

• Lower income tax for middle income families at a cost of €5billion from January 1, 2020. This would be partly funded by ending certain tax breaks from businesses. The Finance Minister later indicated that the changes would benefit 15 million households.
• He has asked the Cour des Comptes to evaluate how much is lost each year in tax evasion and how to reduce it.
• All pensions under €2,000 a month to be re-evaluated in line with inflation from January (and all pensions by 2021) and the minimum pension for anyone who has paid in all their working life will be increased to €1,000 a month from the present €637.
• Retirement age will stay at 62, but a point system will be introduced to encourage people to work longer. He aims at “full employment” by 2025.
• School classes for five-eight-year-olds (GS, CP, CE1) limited to a maximum of 24.
• More resources for the under-three age group.
• The Caf to be given power to take child support payments owed by ex-partners directly from their bank accounts to give to single parents.
• No more school or hospital closures during his current term of office, without the agreement of the local mayor.
• Introducing a recognised status for those who give up work to look after a relative, including pension rights.
• More decentralisation of power and responsibility to local authorities, in areas such as housing, transport, ecology.
• More civil servants in local areas “bringing solutions” but fewer in central government.
• Maisons de Service au Public in every canton. They should aim to be one-stop-shops for administrative issues, both for national state and local authorities, to minimise the need to visit separate bodies (Caf, Pôle Emploi, prefecture, mairie etc).
• Référendums d’Initiative Partagée: if a million signatures are obtained from the public on a topic, there should either be a bill or referendum.
• 150 people will be chosen at random, in June, to participate in the Conseil économique social et environnemental, a body which gives advice to the government and meets regularly. Their first project will be to work on simpler financial incentives to help people make greener choices in transport and in the home.

Countering criticism that the government is out of touch, President Macron said he will abolish the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA), the grande école in Strasbourg where many top civil servants, ministers and presidents (known as énarques) have studied.

Founded in 1945, it aimed to make access to top state posts more egalitarian via exams but is seen as elitist.

He also said he wanted more modernisation of the civil service’s “jobs for life” ethos.

However, some measures were rejected or not raised...

• The gilets jaunes’ demand for citizens’ initiative referendums (RICs), where a binding referendum would be held if enough people vote for it. Mr Macron said it would harm representative democracy via MPs.
• The counting of votes blancs, a protest vote where someone puts an empty voting envelope or blank slip into the box or writes the name of someone not up for election. He said we need efficiency and decisions, and a vote blanc is not a positive vote for anything.
• He will not remove a bank holiday or the 35-hour week.

He defended replacing the ISF wealth tax with a property wealth tax, saying it was to encourage investment into the economy. It would be reviewed next year and changes may be made if it is not working well.

‘People are demanding real answers’

Olivier Rouquan, political commentator from the Panthéon Paris II University, said the president failed to reassure the public that he is in charge and able to resolve the concerns of its citizens.

“There was a big build up to the speech where we were promised radical change. But the speech was too long, confusing and unclear. There was a lack of force and of explanation as to how the social changes would be funded. He put the ball into the prime minister’s court, by asking him and his government to come up with the solutions. He is not giving a strong lead, and seems rather to be running out of time.

“It is impossible for anyone to satisfy the demands of those gilets jaunes who continue to demonstrate. More worrying is that polls indicate that the population in general are also bitter and angry that the politicians are not giving them answers. The political system is not seen to be benefiting the population. The government appears weak and there is no strong opposition. There is a crisis in our democracy, echoed in other European countries. The signs have been there for some time and the speech did nothing to dispel that worry.”

‘Good he gave emphasis to families’

Jean-Philippe Vallat, policy director of the Union Nationale des Associations Familiales, a public body which represents the 18 million families in France, welcomed the inclusion of families and the need to increase birth rates. He said increasing imbalance between the young and the old which could lead to financial difficulties, with an ageing population needing services which in our system are paid for by the younger working generation, is a problem.

“We are delighted he talked about the importance of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, noting the input countries like Finland give to under-three-year-olds, and helping single-parent families. We also welcome the fact that some primary school classes will be smaller.

“Though he said he would re-evaluate pensions in line with inflation, he did not extend that to family benefits and we would like to see a similar initiative to improve family purchasing power.

“Since 2012, financial help for families has been reduced by around €5billion, which has directly hit parents and children. So we would like to see more firm and detailed proposals from the president.”