"This July 14 is a bit special," said Emmanuel Macron, to justify his interview given to Léa Salamé and Gilles Bouleau, Tuesday. He had announced that he would not engage in this type of exercise. And he repeated it on Tuesday: there may not be any new interviews from July 14. But this year, the period justifies the exception. "The country has been deeply upset and traumatized and I believe that this July 14th had a particular turn which justifies this exchange", explained the president of the Republic. "It is a July 14 which consecrates the pride of being French, in which we celebrate our armies. But on this July 14, our armies agreed to offer a little star to the caregivers, these men and these women who protected us, fought for us ", hammered the head of state, in preamble to an interview rich in declarations and announcements. We summarize the main ones.
>> Follow here our direct dedicated to the ceremonies of July 14
Wearing a mask will soon be compulsory in enclosed public places
"I recommend to all our fellow citizens to wear the mask as much as possible when they are outside. And a fortiori when they are in an enclosed place. We will put ourselves in a situation of power, for example from August 1, make it completely mandatory "in closed public places, announced Emmanuel Macron during this interview. "We will be ready", in case of new waves of the Covid-19 epidemic, he also assured. "We have both stocks and supplies that are secure and we have the organization as close to the ground as possible, which would make it possible to face an upsurge, if it were there," he continued.
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The head of state also ensures that he "does not want" a new generalized confinement, "the most radical measure". Emmanuel Macron wants to favor a "differentiated approach". "The key is to be vigilant all over the country," he insists.
An "almost normal" return to school
Emmanuel Macron also assured that the return to school in September would be "almost normal" for schoolchildren, middle school students and high school students. "If there was an acceleration (of the virus) during the month of August, we will have to review this school year. This is not what I wish, if we do things right we will have a school year one little different, even more demanding, "he continued.
The President of the Republic was finally asked about chloroquine and Didier Raoult. Would he take hydrochloroquine if he was sick with coronavirus? "No", he replied, arguing that there is little scientific knowledge surrounding this treatment advocated by the professor from Marseille. "It is not for the President of the Republic or for a politician to settle a scientific debate", he insisted, seeing nevertheless in Didier Raoult a "great scientist".
His responses to the "massive increase in unemployment" he expects
"We are going to have a massive increase in unemployment," warned the head of state. "All the institutes that reference write that there will be between 800,000 and a million more unemployed by the spring of 2021," he added.
Emmanuel Macron also defended the "unprecedented long-term partial activity system" resulting from negotiations with the social partners. "We are going to put 30 billion euros on this device to supplement salaries, finance training [...] in sectors of activity where there are opportunities," he said.
The President of the Republic also said he was open to a policy of "wage moderation" on the part of businesses. Emmanuel Macron "prefers" "temporary" wage cuts to layoffs. But this policy will then have to be accompanied by a "profit-sharing, participation [...] scheme and moderation of dividends".
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An "exceptional exemption from charges" will also be put in place for the hiring of young people. This device will be launched "in particular for low qualifications or jobs up to 1.6 times the minimum wage. We will assess it, but there must be this element of acceleration", he continued. "We are going to create a tremendous accelerator on the civic service, which works, the quality of which we have seen. We will create 100,000 in the next six months," he also announced.
Why did you change Prime Minister?
The President of the Republic returned to the replacement of Edouard Philippe by Jean Castex at the head of the government. "This is a political page in the life of the country that is turning. We cannot say: 'We are taking a new path, a new method, a new time in the quinquennium' and say that we are doing it with the same team, "he said. The head of state nevertheless praised "the courage, loyalty and determination" of Edouard Philippe and praised the "culture of social dialogue" of his successor.
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With this change of government, can we speak of a shift to the right initiated by Emmanuel Macron? "I radically disagree. Firstly because I believe in political overcoming," he said. "Then because fourteen personalities (of the new government) had political mandates on the left or commitments in support of the left," he continued, also touting the presence of ministers or secretaries of state from society civil. "That's it, France," he concluded.
His responses to the criticisms of the appointment of Darmanin
Emmanuel Macron then responded to criticisms regarding the appointment of Gérald Darmanin. The Minister of the Interior has been the subject of an investigation for rape, sexual harassment and breach of trust, for three years. "I place myself as the guarantor of this presumption of innocence," said the head of state. He claims to have had a long discussion with his minister before appointing him, a sign according to him of a "relationship of trust, from man to man".
"I always respect the excitement and anger of just causes. And therefore, the feminist cause, I share it," also said the President of the Republic. "But as true as I believe in the force of just causes, I think that no cause is defended, precisely, if we do it by flouting the fundamental principles of our democracy. I say it for a minister, as I will say for whoever it is. I am also where I stand as the guarantor of this presumption of innocence, "he insisted.
"Our country deep down is afraid and has a crisis of confidence"
"We are far from the worst, but we have a sort of permanent doubt about ourselves as a country. Our country, deep down, is afraid and has a crisis of confidence, of trust in him even ", replied Emmanuel Macron, asked about the criticisms surrounding his management of the coronavirus crisis or even that of the yellow vests and the pension reform. "We have within us what I have sometimes called his 'sad passions', that is to say divisional forces - we were reading this morning a text by General de Gaulle who spoke of it himself - which sometimes lead us to stop moving because we only think of these divisions, "insisted the President of the Republic.
"I probably let appear something that I don't believe to be, deeply, but that people started to hate: a president who would like to reform everything, so that it is only the best who can succeed, so that in the end, our country is adapting to globalization. It’s not my project, but the game of awkwardness, sometimes sentences taken out of their former context, "he also said, when asked about his reaction. to critics concerning him personally.