French President Emmanuel Macron has said the controversial retirement age reform, which has been raised from 62 to 64, should come into effect “before the end of the year.”
“This reform is necessary, I don’t like it, and I would like not to carry it out, but that is why I undertook to carry it out,” the head of state said, stressing the importance of coming into force at the end of the year “so that everything falls into place” .
“36 solutions do not exist,” Macron insisted in an interview with TF1 and France2.com during a 35-minute interview.
Macron expressed confidence in the entry into force of the new reform, despite street protests against this project.
“It would be good if the pensions of 1.8 million people were increased by about 600 euros a year,” said Macron, who said he was “ready to take on the unpopularity” of the reform, confirming his confidence in the prime minister. Was born.
“I’m not looking for re-election […]but between short-term elections and the general interests of the country, I choose the general interests of the country,” the French head of state said.
“[Elisabeth Borne] I am confident that I will lead this government team,” he stressed, insisting that he said on Tuesday that he was not referring to any ministerial reshuffling of the executive branch.
The French President assured that the reform now depends on the opinion of the Constitutional Council, and not on street demonstrations.
“[As manifestações] you need to respect when they behave peacefully, and not when they resort to extreme violence, ”he said.
In an interview, Macron denounced the “cynicism of some large companies” who made unexpected excessive profits that allowed them to buy back their own shares in the market, asking them for this reason “an exceptional contribution” so that “workers can benefit” from this surplus.
“There is still an element of cynicism. There are big companies that make such exceptional returns that they end up using that money to buy back their own shares,” said the French president, who also asked the government to find a way to “work exceptional contributions” to the population.
In addition to dividends, more and more companies are opting to buy back their own shares, an operation designed to support the price of the stock market.
French companies on the French CAC 40 stock exchange generated over €142,000 million in accumulated profits in 2022 thanks to record energy prices and everything that comes with it, the benefits of inflation and the energy crisis bodes well for shareholders.
However, Macron rejected the decision to tax “superprofits”, as France did with energy companies.”
“You have to find the right technique,” he explained, “so that companies that are “in the process of buying their shares, […] distribute more among their employees.”
In 2022, CAC 40-listed companies bought back €23,700 million worth of shares, according to the Vernimmen Financial Bulletin.
TotalEnergies plans to set aside $2,000 million (€1,850 million) in the first quarter of 2023 for share buybacks, the same amount the group paid in taxes on “excessive profits”, according to data provided by news agency France-Presse (AFP). “in the Union, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom.
Automotive sector group Stellantis wants to spend 1,500 million euros on share buybacks and pay 4,200 million euros in dividends, while offsetting 2 billion euros in bonuses for eligible employees.
But French banks have also been especially generous with their shareholders.
BNP Paribas plans to spend €5 billion on a share buyback program, equivalent to half of its record profit of over €10 billion in 2022.
Société Générale has decided to distribute the equivalent of 90% of net income to shareholders in the form of cash dividends and a share buyback program.
Luxury goods giant LVMH will distribute 400 million euros to its roughly 39,000 French employees, spend up to 1,500 million euros on share buybacks and pay out about 6 billion euros in dividends to shareholders, including nearly 3 billion euros to the family of CEO Bernard Arnault.
In the U.S., the 2024 budget proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden calls for a “fourfold increase in the share repurchase tax.”
The words of Macron, who has kept a low profile since January, were eagerly awaited to address the issue of raising the retirement age at the start of his second five-year term as a political crisis. happened on the eve of another day of union mobilization, while unsanctioned and full of tension demonstrations continue to take place in the country every day.
Moreover, strikes and blockades continue throughout the country, especially at oil depots.