Emmanuel Macron defended in an interview with three Italian newspapers his policy to fight against the coronavirus epidemic. Particularly faced with the idea that France has fallen behind without taking into account the transalpine example. “We have absolutely not ignored these signals. I approached this crisis seriously and seriously from the start, when it started in China ”, assures the President of the Republic in the columns of Corriere de la Serra, La Stampa and La Repubblica. And to insist: "Because Italy preceded us in this crisis, we took the hardest measures in France as soon as possible [...] in a number of comparable cases. "
The Head of State also took refuge behind pragmatism to justify each of the decisions taken since the start of the pandemic. "I followed three essential principles at each stage: base our decisions on scientific advice, adapt to the evolution of the crisis, take proportionate measures", he justifies.
Call for budgetary solidarity within the EU
Emmanuel Macron also defended the idea of "Corona loans" at European level and called for budgetary solidarity within the EU. The initiative of nine countries is indeed not supported by Germany, opposed to any pooling of debts. "We will not overcome this crisis without strong European solidarity, at the health and budgetary levels, thundered the President of the Republic. Does the EU and the euro zone boil down to a very flexible monetary institution and set of rules that allow each state to act on its own? Or are we acting together to finance our expenses, our needs in this vital crisis? It can be a joint debt capacity, whatever its name, or an increase in the EU budget to allow real support for the countries most affected by this crisis. Emmanuel Macron, however, did not reveal the possible amount of these loans. "It is secondary, it is this signal that counts, through common debt or the common budget," he concludes.
PODCAST. Emmanuel Macron and the coronavirus crisis: in the head of the president (episode 2)