Arthur de Laborde // Photo credits: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP 15:40 p.m., January 01, 2024

During his traditional televised address on New Year's Eve, the head of state expressed his wishes for the French people and promised a "year of determination" during his 13-minute speech. These vows have divided the political class and provoked some criticism.

Emmanuel Macron promised to make 2024 a "year of determination" and to continue to "act" despite the difficulties that are piling up, during his New Year's Eve where he celebrated the expected "French pride" from the Olympics to the reopening of Notre-Dame. On the other hand, the president did not make any concrete political announcements, for which the opposition did not fail to reproach him. On both the left and the right, the president's opponents denounce above all an exercise in self-satisfaction on the part of the head of state.

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"I found his vows quite sinister. There is a scent of the end of a reign. The words follow one another. There is no tenderness for the French, no compassion, no hope. France is torn apart by social conflicts, bruised by terrorist attacks, humiliated when thugs hold neighbourhoods. I think the president is really in denial of reality. And that's probably why the French don't trust him anymore," said Guilhem Carayon, spokesman for the Republicans party.

A new appointment in January

On the contrary, in the ranks of the majority, some insist that Emmanuel Macron has drawn a path for 2024 and that the president should specify it in the coming days: "I think he has set a course for 2024, but it seems to me that in January, he will have to say how we should do it. Because the real debate behind it is how we are going to continue to reform this country for the interest of the French people and with what majority. And I think that will be the subject of his speech in January or early February," said Patrick Vignal, a Renaissance MP from the Hérault region.

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Emmanuel Macron has indeed promised a meeting with the nation in January. While the hypothesis of a reshuffle agitates the majority, the president's entourage confirms that there will be no council of ministers this week. The next government meeting at the Elysée Palace will take place on 10 January.