Mélenchon castigates Macron, a "liberal" who "brought the private sector into the state"

Europe 1 with AFP 4:26 p.m., April 3, 2022

Jean-Luc Mélenchon castigated Emmanuel Macron, a "liberal" who "brought the private sector into the state" with consulting firms like McKinsey, on Sunday during his meeting on the Place du Capitole in Toulouse.

The rebellious presidential candidate, third in the polls and chasing Marine Le Pen to qualify for the second round, focused this time on Emmanuel Macron, who held his big and only campaign meeting. at the Arena de La Défense on Saturday.

"This man cut 17,000 hospital beds"

"The last time I went to the Arena was to see Pink Floyd there, it was fuller and less hovering," he joked in the preamble, in front of the 25,000 people present according to LFI.

"He said that purchasing power has increased in a historic way: this is false of course, the first quarter of 2022 is the record drop in purchasing power for 10 years, and undoubtedly has not Hasn't he been at the pump for a long time", launched Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

“I am proud, said Macron, to have decided on historic investments for the hospital … This man eliminated 17,000 hospital beds during his five-year term”, the LFI deputy derided him.

He also attacked his recent proposal to lower the age for apprenticeship: "How could he imagine sending a 12-year-old kid to an apprenticeship? Whatever happens it won't happen , because the international conventions signed by France prohibit sending a child to work before the end of compulsory schooling, and in France it is 16 years old".

But he also mentioned the case of McKinsey, while according to the Senate the contracts concluded by the State with the consulting firms had "more than doubled" between 2018 and 2021, reaching a record amount of more than a billion dollars. euros in 2021.

Principle of non-substitution

The outgoing president "has brought the private sector into the state, who can believe that a private company will give advice for the general interest?" Asked the rebellious tribune.

"McKinsey pocketed the salaries of 1,200 civil servants, where is the reason, where is the common sense?" he said.

"It's suspicious to hear that we gave (McKinsey) four million to reform the APL, the equivalent of 17,000 APL," added Mr. Mélenchon.

"While there are 5,000 civil servants who would like nothing better than to make their brains work, and it's a free brain, serving the general interest".

The former minister proposed the "principle of non-substitution: it will be impossible to entrust to the private sector what the State and its civil servants are capable of doing themselves".