A comeback under the sign of gravity. On Wednesday August 24, in the preamble to the Council of Ministers for the start of the new school year, the President of the Republic set the tone: “The moment we are living in may seem to be structured by a series of serious crises”.
With an eminently pessimistic speech, Emmanuel Macron challenged the French on the future and the potential “sacrifices” they could have to face all these crises, whether energy, climate or political.
Indeed, as analyzed by Matthieu Croissandeau, political columnist for BFMTV, these statements by the Head of State seem to have the aim of “preparing people’s minds for measures, reforms and decisions which will call on the French to make efforts, to sacrifice.”
“It could be that some see our destiny as being to perpetually manage crises or emergencies. of a great upheaval”, declared the Head of State in front of the Prime Minister and the members of the government.
If this speech seems particularly pessimistic, it is not the state of mind of the president according to the words of his entourage collected by FranceInfo. Indeed, the purpose of this speech would be to hold a speech of lucidity, in the same way as his speech of August 19 in Bormes-les-Mimosas where he evoked “the price of freedom”.
“Optimism remains his trademark”, assures one of his close advisers, mentioning the phrase “we will get there” mentioned several times during the speech.
“Basically, we are experiencing the end of what could appear as an abundance, that of costless liquidity (…) The scarcity of such and such a material or technology reappears, like that of water”. These remarks by Emmanuel Macron did not fail to make the opposition react, especially on the left.
“He does not realize how hurtful this can be for people. For his friends, the rich, the abundance continues”, reacted Jean-Luc Mélenchon. But for those around the president, this statement is justified. “The end of abundance is that of raw materials, hence the need to adapt, to evolve” declared an adviser as noted by France Info.
For Philippe Corbé, head of the political service of BFMTV, the sacrifices to come are already known. It would be the “sobriety plan, which will be presented to the Medef on Monday by the Prime Minister (…), the efforts will therefore be on companies rather than on households”. These sacrifices are also made on the job. Indeed, for the specialist, it will be necessary to work more, as we see with the reform of pensions and unemployment. Finally, he mentions the energy problem. “In the coming months, will we have the means to extend an energy whatever the cost? (…) It is not certain whether we are listening carefully to the President of the Republic”.
In a column published on the Challenges magazine website, the President of the Republic recalled his course for the next five years. “Our people face the challenges of the century with eyes wide open, aware of the difficulties and the dangers, but confident in their ability to overcome them, sure of their strength,” he wrote.
According to him, “this concern is a form of lucidity, fruitful anxiety which must arouse the action of all in the respect of each one.” For Emmanuel Macron, there is no doubt. “I know we will get there,” he said in his op-ed.
