Reform of institutions, pensions, nationalization of EDF... what to remember from Elisabeth Borne's general policy speech

In the deep end, D-Day for Elisabeth Borne, who for several days had been working on writing her general policy speech.

In an electric context in the National Assembly, his task was difficult.

It has undoubtedly never been so for a Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic.

Weakened by the majority relative to the Palais-Bourbon, the government will have to find compromises, convince bill after bill part of the opposition to vote constructively.

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For nearly an hour and a half, the patron saint of the government strove to reveal her method, without soliciting the confidence of the deputies.

Here's what to take away from his speech.

Entering to the applause of the deputies of the majority, the Prime Minister said she wanted to "talk to France".

Elisabeth Borne says she measures the magnitude of the task, to bring the country together and protect the planet.

“With you, with the whole government, with our fellow citizens, we will succeed,” she promises, in a message of unity announced from the start.

"Together, we will respond to the echo of abstention, the sign of a sick democracy" or even a "disengagement of youth", she said.

“Together”, Elisabeth Borne hammers this term, believing that the French sent a message to politicians during the legislative elections.

A commission for the overhaul of institutions

Elisabeth Borne quickly came to grips with the economic crisis, linked in particular to the war in Ukraine.

For her, this context further prohibits disorder and instability in the Assembly.

“The French are asking us to talk to each other more, to talk to each other better and to build together.

I want us together to give meaning to the word compromise, which has been forgotten for too long in our democracy”.

Compromise, she says, is not compromise.

Nor is it “renouncing one's identity”.

For the head of government, it is time to enter the era of forces building together.

A relative majority is not and will not be synonymous with relative action, the sign of powerlessness.

Coming from the left, she ensures that rights remain to be guaranteed.

She recalls her time spent consulting with opposition forces to try to implement a coalition.

Failing to have succeeded, the government must therefore resolve to seek agreements text by text.

Then she comes to her.

This Prime Minister, "ward of the nation", concedes that she does not have a usual profile, "that's good" she quips, "the context is new".

For each subject, Elisabeth Borne promises to consult the opposition forces.

She says she is ready to hear everyone's proposals and to amend the bills if necessary.

With a first announcement: a cross-party commission must be launched at the start of the school year to work on the overhaul of the institutions.

'No tax hike'

“The French are waiting for us, they will not accept immobility, obstruction or invective,” she warns.

Under the very noisy protests of several opposition deputies, the Prime Minister proposes to the opposition "to build together", in particular on purchasing power, which will be the subject of a bill presented tomorrow in the Council ministers.

Elisabeth Borne proposes in particular an action to limit the price of rents.

She says she wants to guarantee everyone access to healthy food, praises the merits of solidarity at the source to put an end to the social injustice of "non-recourse".

This action, she says, will have to be done according to several principles: the protection of the environment or even the balance of public finances.

“Our objectives are clear, in 2026 we must start reducing the debt.

In 2027, we will have to reduce the deficits below 3%”.

All without tax increases.

For companies, she proposes to lower production taxes further and to abolish the finance law 2023. “Taxation is a subject of debate between us, it can also be a subject of consensus”, she indicates.

Elisabeth Borne boo on the pension reform

Élisabeth Borne then recalls the economic results of the first term in this area.

“We have made work ever more attractive, improved and intensified training for job seekers, better supported young people.

And projects itself into the future, in particular with the announced transformation of Pôle emploi in France -Travail.

With a clear objective: “full and good” employment.

Things get complicated when Elisabeth Borne moved on to a sensitive subject, probably the most sensitive at the start of the five-year term: pension reform.

"Yes, we will have to work gradually a little longer."

The left-wing deputies began to boo Élisabeth Borne, forcing the President of the National Assembly to go with her call for calm.

This reform, she says, is not tied up, “take it or leave it”.

Way once again to leave a possible place for consultation.

Big protests on the benches of the Nupes when Elisabeth Borne addresses the pension reform: "It is not tied up. It will not be take it or leave it. But it is essential", she promises.

"There is no majority for that," replies Alexis Corbière.

#DPG

— JeanBaptiste Daoulas (@jbdaoulas) July 6, 2022

Nationalize EDF

There remains the other priority announced by Emmanuel Macron: the “climate revolution”.

This, continues the Prime Minister, cannot go through degrowth.

Rather, it must be driven by innovation or the jobs of the future.

“We need to do more, Europe has set itself the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050”.

To achieve this, there is only one possible method, for those who have forgotten: working “together!”

".

Élisabeth Borne is committed to definitively getting out of fossil fuels, by means of an ecology of progress.

But also by investing in nuclear power, through the construction of new reactors.

The Prime Minister announced to the deputies the launch of a consultation on the ecological transition in September.

But above all the intention of the State to hold 100% of the capital of EDF.

An evolution that “will allow EDF to strengthen its capacity to carry out ambitious and essential projects for the success of our energy transition”.

This nationalization had been in the works since the end of May.

Here it is done.

Help for single-parent families

Another project: the fight against “inequalities of destiny”.

Elisabeth says she wants to make childhood a priority for government action, in particular by taking action for early childhood care.

She promises "

, which will provide 200,000 missing places.

“We will give priority to helping parents who need it the most, in particular parents who are raising their children alone, the majority of whom are women.

» Support for single-parent families will be implemented for children up to 12 years of age.

The minister also undertook to simplify the system of student grants, to extend the culture pass from the 6th grade, to “offer” 30 minutes of sport to primary school students.

“Continue to act for the hospital”

In this period of an epidemic outbreak, the head of government obviously raised the subject of health.

She calls for "continuing to act for the hospital", and deplores a lack of caregivers, whom she promises to support more strongly.

She says she wants to allow caregivers to spend more time by reducing the administrative burden.

“I am convinced that the solutions will come from professionals, patients, elected officials and the field”.

The fashion being for consultations, another will be launched on this subject in September.

Elisabeth Borne took care to cite eight of the ten group leaders in the Assembly.

All to better prove that his quest for consensus is indeed concrete.

But without the RN and rebellious France.

Marine Le Pen and Mathilde Panot being the only ones not to have been cited.

Deconjugalize the AAH

The Prime Minister says she wants to make the country an “inclusive” country.

Starting by acting on the disability.

With a flagship measure: the deconjugalization of the Disabled Adult Allowance, which the government had firmly opposed during the last five-year period.

Fight separatism and Islamism

Safety is also made a priority.

“Shame on those who attack the police!

launches Élisabeth Borne, who says she wants a gendarmerie and a police force as close as possible to the French.

A bill will be presented to Parliament to put an end to "the feeling of abandonment in certain territories".

200 gendarmerie brigades will also be created on the territory.

The time of presence on the ground will be doubled by 2030, she assures.

She calls for court decisions to be speedier and respected and for victims to be listened to.

In criminal matters, it evokes the creation of 15,000 prison places, and the recruitment of 8,500 magistrates and judicial personnel.

On several occasions, Elisabeth Borne quotes the motto of France.

To freedom, equality and fraternity, it adds secularism.

Investing for our Armed Forces

Elisabeth Borne then announced that Emmanuel Macron will soon present a military programming law, to strengthen our army and our equipment in these times of war.

In conclusion, Élisabeth Borne says she is convinced that the deputies have the means to come together around common values ​​and objectives in order to bring about a majority of ideas.

"The time is not to count us but to talk to us" she tries, just after the elected representatives of Nupes demanded a vote of confidence.

“Trust will be forged text after text, project after project,” she retorts.

“Our country is one of all possibilities.

The one who overcame the crises one by one, ”she recalls.

He will have to overcome a new one.