the different political forces present their program to the bosses

4 mins

These speeches took place at a time when the Prime Minister Gabriel Attal presented the majority’s program and called on the French to choose him as Prime Minister. He was particularly questioned about the necessity or not of campaigning with Emmanuel Macron given the animosity that the president arouses among voters.

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In front of the bosses, it was the former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, for Horizons, who opened the series of hearings in the Gaveau room in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, by reiterating his attachment to the policy in favor of businesses deployed by the current presidential majority. “ There is absolutely no need to change the logic ” politics “ pro-business », implemented since 2017, he declared in front of a large audience made up of employers’ organizations such as the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME), the Union of Local Enterprises (U2P), or the Mo It’s necessary ” even go further “, according to him.

The New Popular Front calls for a “ effort of economic patriotism »

He was followed by Éric Coquerel and Boris Vallaud for the New Popular Front, who defended a program accused by the executive of being expensive and by Medef, the leading employers’ organization, of proposing measures ” dangerous » for the economy. Just like that of the National Rally.

On stage, Boris Vallaud proposed a “ new productive pact » uniting workers, captains of industry and consumers. Criticized for internal disagreements over the costing of the program, Éric Coquerel promised “ something homogeneous » by the end of the week.

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To finance it in part, Boris Vallaud demanded in front of the many bosses gathered “ an effort of economic patriotism » to billionaires, « because you have benefited from our schools, because you have benefited from our public services, because you have benefited from our public subsidies and we are in a moment of national recovery, of productive rearmament, of affirmation of our sovereignty “, he said.

Overall, all political leaders were applauded during these hearings, but boos were heard when Mr. Coquerel made the distinction between “ those who produce wealth in this country and those who look above all at stock market prices “.

Jordan Bardella and Eric Ciotti side by side

On stage after the left, Jordan Bardella and Éric Ciotti appeared side by side for the first time since the announcement of their alliance – for the National Rally and its partners. Bardella denounced the “ budgetary unreason » of the government and the “ risk of economic dropout “. He promised an audit of public accounts to restore “ of the order » and committed to removing “ completely » the CVAE, a production tax which weighs on businesses – this last measure also being defended by the majority.

In recent days, questioned about its economic program, the National Rally had seemed to hesitate on some of its announcements concerning the repeal of the pension reform and the abolition of VAT on basic necessities. This measure will wait “ the start of the school year », affirmed Jordan Bardella at the beginning of the week, and the pension reform will be repealed by giving priority “ with long careers “, ” from autumn “.

An output not convincing enough to remove the doubts surrounding the RN program: “ We absolutely did not understand what the timetable and reality would be » of the repeal of the reform, reacted the boss of Medef Patrick Martin at the end of the hearings. “ When it’s blurry, there’s a wolf “, he judged. On the left, Mr. Martin also castigated the proposal for a minimum wage of 1,600 euros, affirming “ that if we want to precipitate the bankruptcy of companies let’s go there cheerfully “.

Economic context and electoral promises

These hearings took place in a context where French public finances are in the red and were singled out on Wednesday by the European Commission which opened the way to procedures for excessive public deficits. The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, however warned during these hearings in the Gaveau room: “ France’s budgetary room for maneuver is zero “.

The last to be on the grill after more than four hours of hearing, senator LR Bruno Retailleau criticized the model of “ social statism ” in place ” For years “. He pleaded for “ more growth » by focusing on competitiveness and productivity, and “ less expenses », Evoking the need to make 100 billion euros in savings.