The economy today

The economic priorities of the re-elected president

Audio 03:19

Emmanuel Macron on the Champ-de-Mars after his victory in the second round of the presidential election.

© Pierre René-Worms / RFI

By: Dominique Baillard Follow

3 mins

Emmanuel Macron was re-elected in part thanks to an anti Le Pen blocking vote, with also a high abstention rate.

"

," said the president in his Champ de Mars speech.

What are its

economic “

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Emmanuel Macron must first respond to the difficulties of the French related to purchasing power.

This was the priority of the campaign, and it will naturally be the priority at the start of his second term;

in a context of high inflation - it is now above 4% in France.

The president has promised an exceptional law this summer to renew the energy shield, that is to say public aid to soften the rise in gas, electricity and fuel.

He also wants to sign a food check for 8 million French people.

And index pensions to inflation, which has been under the carpet since the 1980s. Finally raise the minimum pension to 1,100 euros.

The president wants to boost the income of employees

With what he calls the employee dividend that the beneficiary companies will be strongly invited to pay, either in the form of profit-sharing or on the model of the bonus put in place to reward employees on the front line during the pandemic.

A “plus plus plus” bonus: the maximum threshold of this bonus exempt from employers' social contributions and taxes goes from 1,000 to 6,000 euros.

It will concern those who earn less than three times the minimum wage.

In addition, the president promised to upgrade the salaries of civil servants.

Here again, there was fairly rapid action, before the summer, to raise the index point and to take inflation into account.

Note that teachers should benefit from a particular boost of 10%.

What are the other priorities of Emmanuel Macron's second term?

He must first achieve or complete what he missed in the first term.

Like the pension reform, this will be the work of the fall.

The reform that comes plans to delay the retirement age, at least to 64 years.

It must also accelerate the ecological transition, France is late.

This priority will be carried, he indicated, by the Prime Minister and a dedicated minister.

The president must also devote himself to the flaws revealed by the Covid: a bloodless health sector and an industry at half mast, unable to meet the needs of France.

Finally, we noticed that the president surrounded himself with children last night when he arrived at the Champ de Mars, as if to underline the priority given to youth.

There are therefore reforms in perspective at school.

Is the economic and social context favorable to it?

Once the president has circumvented the pitfall of the third round of legislative elections which promise a tight battle, the president will have to be careful not to create a fourth social round, in the street.

He knew the movement of yellow vests.

He must be attentive to this popular electorate which did not bring him his votes.

On the international level, the economic context will also impose its constraints: the price of oil could start again with renewed vigor in the event of an embargo on Russian crude.

And interest rates will inexorably recover;

the Federal Reserve plans four hikes this year, the ECB could follow by the end of the year.

The issue of public finances and the additional cost of debt could poison his second term.

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• France

• Emmanuel Macron

• Presidential France 2022