Macron’s French government prioritizes support for the working middle class

Emmanuel Macron’s French government said this Sunday that in an open debate on the left about whether subsidy recipients should be protected from any stigmatization for not working, it would make a commitment to the working middle class.

“We are going to focus our aid more on French people who work and get up early,” said Action and Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal, who has pushed for “acting in favor of work” in France.

In an interview with the French news channel BFMTV, Gabriel Attal said it was about supporting citizens who “work hard”.

Speaking to Le Parisien newspaper, the minister stressed that “the priority should be the French who work or want to work.”

When asked about the controversy surrounding the so-called “right to be lazy,” the person in charge of the public accounts portfolio referred to those who defended the concept and specifically quoted deputy environmentalist Sandrine Rousseau of the Greens/European Free Alliance. .

Although “not to be underestimated” those who receive subsidies, Gabriel Attal defended the “value of work” that is in the program with which Emmanuel Macron was re-elected in April to the presidency of France.

Among concrete measures to support the working middle class, the minister highlighted an increase in tax breaks for families who have to pay for childcare, and a reduction in income tax, which will be reduced by 6.2 billion euros. The initiatives, he stressed, are in the next year’s budget proposals, which have already been voted on.

“The French expect to appreciate those who move the country forward. I regret that some [dos partidos] the left prefers to defend “the right to be lazy,” said Gabriel Attal, a former socialist and now a member of the República en Marcha political party founded by Emmanuel Macron.

The minister pointed to “several billion euros” of social assistance fraud, although he acknowledged that there were “progress” in the fight against this phenomenon, and indicated that in order to avoid some of the mechanisms of this fraud, from July 1, 2023, these support funds cannot be transferred to foreign bank accounts.

“These payments, for which there are sometimes doubts about the existence of the recipient, amount to 150 million euros over five years,” he explained.

Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also defended the reform of unemployment benefits, which provides for a reduction in the compensation period at an unemployment rate below 9%, as is the case now, to encourage the unemployed to look for work. Job. .

In an interview with France 3, Bruno Le Maire said that in addition to narrowing the “deficit” in unemployment benefits, the goal of this reform is to provide jobs for 100,000 to 150,000 people.

On the other hand, the Treasury Secretary indicated that the government’s immigration bill, while considering granting titles to foreigners who would work in industries disrupted by labor shortages, would be exceptional.

“Labor immigration should only be a last resort,” he said.

Bruno Le Maire stressed that the goal is to “bring work back to French people who are far from work” either because they lack qualifications or because they live in an area where there are no jobs available.