President Macron said he will appoint a new prime minister ‘within days’ during a speech broadcast on French television last night (December 5).
In a 10-minute long address from the Elysée palace at 20:00, he also dismissed calls to step down as president.
He criticised the "cynicism" of his many political opponents amid the political turmoil caused by the collapse of the government and resignation of the prime minister .
“I am well aware that some people are tempted to blame me for this situation. It is much easier for them this way,” he said.
In particular, he singled out the far-right Rassemblement National for their “alliance” with the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire, which he called “an insult to their own voters”.
“They are not thinking about you, your lives, your difficulties, your end of the month, your projects.
“Let's be honest. They are only thinking about one thing: the presidential election, to prepare for it, to provoke it, to hasten it.”
A ‘special law’ for the provisional budget
To address the problem of France’s 2025 budget, Mr Macron pledged to table “a special law before mid-December”, which will “apply the 2024 choices to 2025” as a provisional measure.
This measure will involve reusing the 2024 tax bands, potentially pushing millions into a higher tax category due to the effect of inflation. However, some experts believe the government has ways to effectively index the tax bands in line with inflation (such as via, for example, a reimbursement if and when the 2025 budget is adopted next year).
