02/04/2022 22:24 (act. 02/04/2022 22:30)
Emmanuel Macron takes a dip in the crowd of his supporters ©APA/AFP
A week before the start of presidential elections in France, head of state Emmanuel Macron promised more social justice and aid to purchasing power in the current crisis. “Our project for 2022 is solidarity and social progress,” Macron said on Saturday in front of tens of thousands of supporters in Nanterre, near Paris, in his only major appearance before the first round of the election.
“Working French shouldn’t put their entire salary into filling the tank and buying groceries, that’s unfair.” Starting in the summer, employees should be able to receive a tax-free purchasing power bonus of up to 6,000 euros, said the 44-year-old politician who is running for a second term. He also promised more money to the self-employed. His government has already invested around 20 billion euros to limit electricity and gas prices.
Macron announced further investments and improvements in health and education systems. In future, the minimum pension should be €1,100 after full employment. Help for single parents should be increased. After a scandal over complaints in nursing homes, the president announced the hiring of 50,000 additional nurses and more controls. The fight against sexual abuse must be intensified.
In order to finance the announced strengthening of the welfare state and further tax cuts, Macron swore to the French during his election campaign to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65. A social and welfare state is not possible if the state does not produce and create wealth. “We have to work harder.” For the first time since the 1970s, it is possible to achieve full employment in France.
Macron also made a passionate commitment to Europe. Europe is better equipped to fight the food crisis that threatens the war in Ukraine and to master the climate crisis. “We are proud to be Europeans and to fly the European flag alongside our national flag.” At the same time, France has an independent policy, exchanges with other states and the formation of new alliances.
Purchasing power has become the overriding issue in the French presidential campaign, with education, health and migration also being important issues. Because of his diplomatic efforts in the Ukraine war, Macron entered the election campaign late. He is clearly ahead in the polls, but his main opponent, the rightist Marine Le Pen, has recently caught up with him. A poll for Le Journal du Dimanche on Saturday showed Macron with 27 percent and Le Pen with 22 percent, with leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon third with 15 percent. In a runoff in the second round of the election, Macron would defeat Le Pen by 53% to 47%, according to the poll.