French PM seeks to prove legitimacy and douse fires in first policy speech
In his first policy speech since being appointed three weeks ago, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spent 90 minutes on Tuesday seeking to convince lawmakers of his ability to handle national crises at a time when farmer protests, rising living costs and immigration policy are piling pressure on the government.
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It was a D-day of sorts for the 34-year-old head of government who rose to the top job in a cabinet reshuffle aimed at injecting new life into the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.
Seeking to prove himself amid concerns over his age and relative inexperience, Attal tackled a range of priority issues that included agriculture, education, employment, security, national identity and immigration.
However the broad lines of the government's policy were already rolled out by Macron himself during a press event on 16 January.
Attal’s speech – coming at a time when farmer blockades around Paris are generating daily headlines – was a delicate balancing act in front of a parliament in which his party governs with a minority.
The far left France Unbowed party accused Attal of delivering the “most reactionary speech in a century”, while the rightwing Republicans criticised what they called “a catalogue of small measures” that were disconnected from the country’s real needs.
The main takeaways:
► The prime minister promised the government would respond “without ambiguity” to the agricultural crisis that has seen farmers take issue with EU environmental rules they argue are hindering their capacity to produce.
Describing France’s farming industry as “our strength, and our pride”, Attal sought to calm anger as he vowed more agricultural measures would be announced in the coming days.
The industry, Europe’s largest, not only feeds French people in the "literal sense", Attal went on to say, but it also constitutes “one of the foundations of our identity, of our traditions”.
► Placing his speech under the banner of “sovereignty” and “independence”, Attal told MPs that he would not stand by and watch French identity become “diluted or dissolved”.
He said: “We are not just any country. France will not be, is not, has never been a nation that endures things. France is a landmark, an ideal, a moral heritage, a protective social model envied the world over.”
- France seeks change to EU nature laws in bid to appease farmers
- Reforms to address France's 'medical deserts' pit doctors against nurses
► Concerning employment, Attal said he had asked his ministers to experiment with a four-day work week, with no reduction in working hours.
Attal promised to lift the salaries of more French people above the minimum wage. “Starting with the next finance bill, we will begin to reform this system," he said. He also reiterated a commitment to a new tax cut of €2 billion for France's middle-class taxpayers.
Other priorities included making payment of the social income conditional on working 15 hours a week, ending some benefits for the unemployed and simplifying standards for small companies.
► To tackle the problem of medical deserts, Attal confirmed that foreign doctors would be "regularised" and allowed to legally practice in France.
► As part of a “climate change adaptation plan”, the government intends to implementation an "ecological civic service" that will include 50,000 young people by 2027. Meanwhile a plastic pollution reduction plan will target the 50 sites in France that generate the most plastic packaging.
► Meanwhile an existing bill on assisted dying is to be examined before the summer, Attal said, promising to also boost the resources of palliative care units.
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