After a busy first term, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, He won re-election with 58.54% of the votes against 41.46% of the far-right Marine Le Pen. The first five years of the centrist leader on the Elysee were marked by strong protest on the street and a succession of world crises (from covid-19 to the war in Ukraine to the energy price crisis to pass). After becoming the first French re-elected president since Jacques Chirac in 2002, does a second, quieter five-year term now await him?
“The coming years they won’t be calmMacron agreed in a sober speech, celebrating his victory in front of his less than 3,000 supporters in the Eiffel Tower area. It doesn’t look like his second term will be a Sunday walk on the Champ de Mars. Less than 24 hours later, French politics turned to the legislative elections on 12 and 19 June.
Since the establishment of a five-year term for the head of state in 2002, these parliamentary elections have become purely a formality for the winner of the presidential election. However, what they observed with a certain eye from the macronist ranks fear a final unitary coalition of the left led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who aspires to become the new prime minister and impose coexistence on the president. “If participation levels don’t drop and the left unites, it could be very complicated for us,” a lawmaker from La República en Marcha (Macron’s party) told the liberal daily L’Opinion.
If the president finally gets a majority National Assembly —the first surveys show that this will happen—then you will be able to execute your program. Throughout the campaign, he was pretty uncertain about what his initial measures would be, and it’s not easy to pinpoint what those first 100 days will consist of. But there are a number of files that promise to be precise. these three “hot fries” Macron presidency II. the beginning of the curtain.
war in ukraine
The centrist leader will begin his second term in the midst of one of the worst armed conflicts in Europe since the Second World War. After staging his failed attempt to mediate between Ukraine’s Volodímir Zelenski and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in March, he dedicated himself to his country’s election campaign in April. A few hours after the announcement of his victory, he had a phone call with Zelensky. Except for a possible official trip to Kiev – on the contrary Pedro Sanchez or the British Boris Johnson – has not yet traveled to the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the war.
Also, Macron, whose country occupied the country term presidency European Union– He will lead a European summit in Brussels at the end of May dedicated to the war, the building of a “Europe of Defense” and the energy sovereignty of the countries of the Community. He made a proposal in March, given the economic impact of the conflict and the energy price crisis. new european investment plan, following the example of the Next Generation EU. While this proposal has the support of governments in the south of the continent, such as Spain, it arouses more reluctance in northern countries such as Germany.
To compensate for inflation and the economic consequences of the war, his new government will also have to manage the end of some of the emergency devices announced in the middle of the election campaign. 18 cents drop gasoline price. When that subsidy expires on July 31, it’s considering promoting more specific measures, such as assistance for the most modest drivers or raising summer pensions by 4% (equivalent to inflation).
pension reform
It was macronist election promises that caused more rivers of ink to flow. The president wants to extend the current deadline age pension Ages 62 to 65 years (with 43 years of contribution). To lessen the reluctance of some left-wing voters to support him in the duel against Le Pen, he proposed in the final part of the campaign to gradually introduce this measure and ensure that the retirement age does not reach 65 until 2031.
In late summer or early fall, the executive is scheduled to meet with unions and employers to discuss this controversial reform. “If Emmanuel Macron (…) wants to impose 65 years, he will face opposition. CFDTHe warned in an interview at Le Monde Laurent Berger, He is the general secretary of the union with the most members (moderately oriented) in France.
In the last five years, social dialogue has been pretty cosmetic. In practice, there was no reform adopted after a compromise between employers and unions. For this second term, Macron promised another form of government, closer to citizenship and consent. However, he did not elaborate on what it would entail. “This new era will not be the continuation of the five-year period that has ended, but the collective invention of a new and better method for the next five years,” he promised.
The discontent of the education sector
This teachers They went on strike in January and held mass demonstrations. Their mobilization was motivated not only by the covid-19 administration, but also by their low salaries. In fact, it is a particularly low-paying occupation in France, with salaries lower than those in Germany, Spain or Italy.
The presentation of Macron’s program on March 17 was a jug of cold water for the education unions that were waiting for a pay rise for the entire profession. Therefore, he stated that these increases will only occur if they take on new duties. However, in the last part of the campaign, he changed his version and promised 10% raise for teachers as a whole, but later the press noted that this development will only affect beginning teachers. If this situation is not resolved, the president may face new protests from the industry.
Source: Informacion
