"I will not give up convincing. I will not give up on building compromises. I will not give up on acting. I am here to find agreements and lead the necessary transformations for our country and for the French," said the Prime Minister, weakened since the 49.3 triggered on the pension reform and the motion of censure against her government which failed by nine votes.
"United, we will be to the end the activists of courage, the supporters of reform, and above all, the architects of solutions," added Ms. Borne.
The head of government both explained the roadmap assigned by Emmanuel Macron to "enlarge the relative majority", while pleading again for the "overtaking" between the right and the left, where Horizons, a party member of the majority, is anchored to the right.
"Expanding our majority means concluding project contracts with each other, without prejudice, without necessarily looking at the same side, and building a reform agenda at the service of the French. I know that I can count on the mobilization of Horizons to achieve this," said the Prime Minister.
Former Prime Minister and President of Horizons Edouard Philippe and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne at the Horizons congress, March 25, 2023 in Vincennes © Alain JOCARD / AFP
"For my part, my identity is to surpass. I will remain the guarantor," said Ms. Borne. "Because overtaking is the only way to respond to what concerns the French people. It is neither right nor left to want your child's teacher to be replaced when he is away."
"We must listen to the doubts and sometimes anger expressed in the social movements, which go far beyond the pension reform. This is a demand for justice. It is a question of taking into account the evolution of our relationship to work and offering real prospects to everyone," said the Prime Minister.
Edouard Philippe, whose minister she was when he led the government (2017-2020), had previously paid tribute to the "rectitude", "determination" and "intellectual honesty" of Ms. Borne.
© 2023 AFP