Macron offers tax cuts to assuage ‘yellow vests’
27 April, 2019
At the first major news conference of his presidency, Emmanuel Macron pledged to cut taxes on Thursday and said the French would have to work longer as he outlined his response to months of anti-government protests that have shaken his authority.
Speaking in a gilded hall at the Elysee Palace, Macron took reporters’ questions for nearly 2½ hours, part of an effort to redress the rocky relationship he has developed with the media.
He apologized — not for the first time — for his sometimes sharp tongue and cutting comments, which have earned him a reputation for arrogance and contributed to a deep slump in his popularity ratings, which are showing some signs of recovery.
“I regret them deeply,” Macron said of the barbs, which included him telling an unemployed gardener to cross the road and find a job. “I think they did not show me as I am.”
Almost two years into his five-year term, and following a national listening tour, the prime-time event was also Macron’s attempt to quell nearly six months of “yellow vest” protests that have brought weekly unrest to the country.
A first slate of economic measures put forward last December, and worth some €10 billion ($11.13 billion), failed to calm anger among lower-income workers and prompted Macron’s decision to hold a “great debate” with citizens.
The 41-year-old president, a former investment banker and economy minister, said he wanted a significant cut in income taxes, saying it would be worth around €5 billion, financed by closing loopholes for some companies.
The tax cuts come as France is trying to keep its budget deficit in check, while at the same time hoping to rid itself of a reputation as the world’s most highly taxed country. Figures from the OECD show France’s “tax-take” is equivalent to 54 percent of gross domestic product.
Along with the tax relief, Macron said government spending would be squeezed and the French would have to work longer to build up social contributions, an announcement that is unlikely to be popular in a nation known for its 35-hour week.
“We must work more, I’ve said it before,” said Macron, who is renowned for tiring out his staff. “France works much less than its neighbors. We need to have a real debate on this.”
While providing few details on his proposals, he ruled out making people work longer per week or cutting the number of bank holidays, and he said he was not in favor of extending the current minimum retirement age of 62.
With “yellow vest”’ protesters decrying what they see as the political establishment’s elitism, Macron said he wanted to get the French more involved in the democratic process by making it easier to hold referendums on limited number of issues.
He also said he wanted to abolish the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, the elite school that trains France’s corporate and political leaders, saying new ways needed to be found of recruiting top-class civil servants.
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