Macron warns France faces 'sacrifices' after 'end
of abundance'
Speaking at the start of the first cabinet meeting
after the government's traditional August holiday, the French president
prepared the country for a difficut winter ahead.
Le Monde
with AFP
Published
on August 24, 2022 at 12h47, updated at 16h13 on August 24, 2022
Time to1
min.
French
President Emmanuel Macron warned Wednesday that France faced
"sacrifices" in a new era marked by climate change and instability
caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine that signalled "the end of
abundance".
After a
summer marked by drought, massive wildfires and continuing loss of life in
Ukraine, the 44-year-old leader delivered a stark speech at the start of the
first cabinet meeting after the country's traditional August holiday break.
"I
believe that we are in the process of living through a tipping point or great
upheaval. Firstly because we are living through... the end of what could seem
like the end of abundance."
Referring
to the war in Ukraine, he added: "Our system based on freedom in which we
have become used to living, sometimes when we need to defend it, it can entail
making sacrifices."
The speech
appeared designed to prepare the country for what promises to be a difficult
winter ahead, with energy prices rising sharply and many families struggling
with inflation.
The severe
drought over the summer, leading to water restrictions across most of the
country, has also caused many French people to express fears about the
increasingly obvious impact of climate change.
"This
overview that I'm giving − the end of abundance, the end of insouciance, the
end of assumptions − it's ultimately a tipping point that we are going through
that can lead our citizens to feel a lot of anxiety," Mr. Macron
continued. "Faced with this, we have duties, the first of which is to
speak frankly and very clearly without doom-mongering," he said.
French
inflation was clocked at 6.1% last month, one of the lowest rates in Europe
thanks to costly government price caps on electricity and gas, as well as tax
cuts on petrol and diesel.
"Our
measures have worked. Apart from Malta, no one is doing better than us,"
government spokesman Olivier Veran said after the cabinet meeting.
But trade
unions are pushing for higher wages and have called for a day of strikes and
rallies on September 29.
The head of
the hard-left CGT union, Philippe Martinez, told BFM television that the president's
speech was "inappropriate", adding that the poorest were already
paying the price of the war and that further sacrifices could not be expected.
"He'll ask for them (sacrifices) and we will oppose them," Mr.
Martinez said.
.jpeg)
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário