Outside, autumn weather is falling on Paris. Through the monumental windows of the "Monsieur Bleu" restaurant, you can see the leaves swirling in the air. It is here, in this chic establishment near the Eiffel Tower, that Emmanuel Macron came to answer questions from some sixty journalists from the Presidential Press Association. And try to dispel the back-to-school clouds. “The life of the country is punctuated by the health crisis, begins the president, wearing a white fabric mask. Our strategy is to live with the virus. "
He knows it, the generalization of the wearing of the mask, obligatory in certain cities, goes badly. At the microphone, the president tries to dispassionate the debate: the masks do not constitute "the alpha and the omega" of the fight against the epidemic. “It's all the barrier gestures together that count,” he argues. If you wear the mask and do not wash your hands, it is not effective. He took the opportunity to issue a warning: beware of "private gatherings", in contact with grandparents. In his mind, is generalized reconfinement taboo? The answer is far from categorical. "We are doing everything to avoid it", he assures, but "nothing can in theory be excluded", even evoking the hypotheses of "nationalized or regionalized confinements".
The "crazy debate" on free masks
In this context, Emmanuel Macron justifies the postponement of the massive stimulus plan, presented next Thursday: “We were not going to talk about investments in the hydrogen sector, while the French are wondering about the masks. "By the way, the Head of State confides in his perplexity in front of the" crazy debate "on free masks. “Which country distributes as many free masks as we do? "He asks, saying that" 55 million "masks have been distributed to low-income families.
VIDEO. "Preparing France for 2030", Macron unveils the objective of the recovery plan
Another source of concern: the social crisis. Emmanuel Macron has set himself two priorities: employment and support for young people, with billions of public aid. But no question, he assures, to finance this massive support by tax increases. This would lead to a "tetany of the middle classes", similar to that which occurred after the 2008 crisis, argues Emmanuel Macron. The efforts will therefore be financed by debt, part of which will be paid over the “very long term”, ie over several generations. In this climate, the pension reform will wait, although it constitutes a "relevant response to put back on the table", persists the tenant of the Elysee.
For the executive, this return is also struck by virulent opposition. In recent days, the right has dubbed the president on the rise in daily violence, after an accumulation of various facts. "I did not wait for the comments" to see it, defends Emmanuel Macron but points out that "ten thousand" police and gendarmes posts have been created. At the same time, the Head of State calls for "a rapid response on the judicial level" to the excesses, deploring "impoverished" justice. Not taking up the controversial term of “wildness” dear to his Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin, Emmanuel Macron prefers to denounce a “trivialization of violence”. Less divisive ...
Political Newsletter
Every day, political news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers. Learn more
The president has been speaking for two hours. He lifts his mask to drink, then puts it back on. Outside, the squalls have not abated. "I have already philosophized too much", he blurted out between two theoretical developments on the "anthropological" evolution of society. Here he is suddenly questioned on a more down to earth subject: his ambitions for 2022. "There are enough unexpected crises to have only one objective", Emmanuel Macron dodges, who wishes to remain on a "short-term concentration. "For what" concerns ". Each day has enough trouble of its.
