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For his second term, French President Emmanuel Macron promises to achieve “full employment”, progressively raise the retirement age, increase the minimum monthly pension and raise teachers’ salaries. A review of his main proposals.
Some citizens dub Emmanuel Macron “the president of the rich” for abolishing a wealth tax and for some comments about the poor. Others, on the contrary, believe that the French president has honored his profession as an economist to advance unpopular but effective reforms to keep his status afloat as the second largest economy in the European Union.
In a deeply divided election, the French president managed to win the necessary votes to continue developing his agenda that, in economic terms, includes points as sensitive as the retirement age.
Emmanuel Macron seeks to gradually delay the minimum retirement age of 62 years, that is, add four months per year until reaching a pension age of 35 years in 2031. This proposal quickly became the workhorse of his opponent, the far-right Marine Le Pen, who proposed to maintain the age, and even reduce it for those who start their working life before the age of 20.
The Minister of Finance, Bruno Le Maire, affirmed this Monday, April 25, that, although the proposal is maintained, it will give a margin of discussion to points such as the conditions of those who started working very young or the compensation of what he has considered ” embarrassing jobs.”
The International Labor Organization defines arduous, dangerous, toxic or unhealthy work as work that causes a deterioration in the health of workers, constitutes a risk to physical or mental integrity or produces diseases more frequently than others.
High prices, the main concern of the French
A recent Ipsos survey indicates that 65% of citizens are worried about energy prices, while more than half have also shown anxiety about inflation. The same says he is worried about pensions, taxes, health and social inequity.
Among other proposals related to purchasing power, President Macron seeks that companies can give employees an untaxed bonus of up to 6,000 euros and continue allocating resources to limit energy bills.
Plagued by one crisis after another, France is now struggling with annual inflation of more than 5%, within which energy costs have skyrocketed by more than 28%, not least because of the war in Ukraine, which aggravated the upward path of prices that the pandemic already brought.
In terms of energy transition, the president campaigned to build six next-generation nuclear reactors and develop solar power as well as offshore wind farms as he pursues the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Likewise, he promised to increase the availability of public transport throughout the country to move citizens away from dependence on cars.
With EFE, Reuters, AP
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