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NewsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to the France 24 Newsroom.
00:06 We're going to go straight to the Elysee Palace where President Emmanuel Macron is
00:10 speaking amid the first cabinet meeting since Thursday's reshuffle.
00:13 Let's take a listen.
00:16 Commitment with special meaning for our nation.
00:21 And under the authority of the Prime Minister, several governments have advanced by implementing
00:29 the program that the French people elected me to accomplish.
00:34 You have gone through budget exercises, the reform of the pension plans, significant laws
00:41 on energy and the economy, and I will come back to the roadmap for the 100 days that
00:49 we engaged upon together.
00:52 And this is why I have chosen continuity and efficiency for the coming period.
01:01 By confirming and reaffirming quite clearly my confidence in the Prime Minister, she has
01:08 chosen eight new ministers to join the cabinet and I would like to thank them for their commitment
01:13 and for being here today.
01:16 I would also like to express my warmest thanks to the eight ministers who are leaving us
01:24 and who have worked since the spring of 2022 and since May of 2017 for others.
01:31 I'd like to thank them for all their hard work.
01:34 I'd like to express my gratitude to all of those who are making a commitment today and
01:39 I measure just how many sacrifices this requires.
01:43 But our country is well worth it.
01:45 The collective commitment that we are now engaged in is the commitment I made to the
01:51 French people a bit more than a year ago and which is the continuity of what we have been
01:57 taking on for more than six years now with a clear course of works that we have set out
02:07 to accomplish.
02:09 This course is very clear.
02:11 The independence of the country in order to consolidate a more just model.
02:18 The independence of France is industrial, military, energy and geopolitical independence.
02:26 No policies are worth anything if we are not independent and of course this also involves
02:33 financial independence and it is only by producing more, by building more, by consolidating this
02:39 independence that we will be able to continue to have a social model which is among the
02:43 most generous in the world but by making it more fair, by correcting some inequities,
02:53 by correcting them now and also through efforts in the fields of health and education.
03:01 This course of action continues and intensifies the course of action that we began six years
03:11 ago.
03:12 First of all industrialization and more employment.
03:16 We have seen results.
03:19 Reforms have been undertaken over the past six years.
03:22 Unemployment is continuing to fall off despite the difficulties.
03:28 We have created 1,700,000 employment, many of them in the industrial sector and we have
03:36 continued to open factories in places where many have closed.
03:41 We have seen in Dunkirk more than 3,000 jobs created in an electric battery plant and in
03:49 Ardèche there will be a new medical production laboratory opening.
03:55 We have voted on laws including a law on green industry which is the translation of the Europeans'
04:07 green industrial policy going even farther than the Americans in this regard.
04:13 And then we have built a policy for full employment with the significant reforms that are continuing
04:17 with France Travail program and then the reform of unemployment benefits.
04:27 The convictions and the principles that guide us are that we believe in work and we believe
04:32 in merit-based organizations.
04:37 And over the past weeks and months we have continued to make decisions, to draft laws
04:44 and to see results.
04:46 The second main course that we are following has to do with progress.
04:55 Progress comes through a more efficient public service sector enabling our citizens to have
05:03 more autonomy and to correct certain inequities.
05:07 And I think that through training, education and health we can in particular adjust these
05:14 inequalities.
05:17 Significant reforms have been announced with regard to education from the pact with teachers,
05:25 the reform of professional schools, reforms concerning school trajectories for all of
05:33 our students.
05:34 We have seen a deep reform of our school system, welcoming children earlier in kindergarten,
05:42 continuing the efforts for children who are in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods, beginning
05:49 in kindergarten, improving assessments, aiding school leavers or potential school leavers,
05:59 increasing efforts for young teenagers and those who are entering secondary school and
06:07 then including sports activities in school.
06:10 The reform of professional schooling, where we have a third of our students and many of
06:17 our school leavers, has been breaking all records despite the best efforts of teachers
06:26 and their parents and the parents of the students.
06:30 So this is a big area of work that is awaiting us.
06:37 And I have also asked for some improvements in the organization of the baccalaureate exam
06:41 and improvements in access to education at the university level.
06:49 In the health field as well, many things have been done.
06:53 We have access to a service of access to health, which will be implemented during this year.
07:02 More than 600,000 older or chronically ill French people will be able to have access
07:12 to a general practitioner.
07:17 And we are also working on a plan to improve access to emergency services.
07:22 This has required a lot of work and there is still a lot of work ahead of us.
07:28 And still on the subject of progress, over the past weeks the Prime Minister and her
07:35 cabinet have been working on overseas territories and also on our locally, our local neighborhoods
07:48 where there are a lot of disadvantaged people living.
07:52 And then we have the question of the environment.
07:55 Our country, like all major nations, is facing the need for a transition because the consequences
08:01 of the model of production around the world has created an environmental problem.
08:09 So there's an urgent problem, but there's also long-term solutions that must be found
08:14 over the past months and years.
08:16 We've looked at energy savings.
08:20 This has led to a great mobilization of our citizens, quite remarkable in fact.
08:26 Everything that citizens have done, we have announced over the past 100 years.
08:31 We have launched a new water plan, which will enable us to prepare for the dry spell this
08:41 summer with regard to the transition of our economic model.
08:47 We have also passed significant laws, three, one for renewable energies, deploying them
08:53 faster, one for nuclear energy, deploying that more quickly.
08:58 Two reactors in Buzet will go into operation, including six new ones.
09:07 Thirdly, a faster greening of our industrial sector.
09:12 So we are moving forward on that path to progress.
09:16 And with the Prime Minister, we will be soon presenting the environmental plan that will
09:22 affect all sectors and that will give greater transparency to our program in this regard.
09:27 And a lot of work has been carried out over the past few months.
09:30 And this is part of the European action for reducing emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality
09:38 by 2050.
09:40 And just a few weeks ago, we held a summit for green financing here in Paris, fighting
09:48 against poverty and against the consequences of global warming.
09:54 And then the fourth course that we have set has to do with the Republican law and order.
10:00 And we are continuing to advance on this path as well.
10:04 These past weeks, we have been able to fill out our mechanisms.
10:08 We have a law for the Ministry of the Interior, which will enable us to create new positions
10:17 with budgetary measures, including for the fire department.
10:27 And in recent weeks, we have voted on a law for the army, a budget program for the upcoming
10:38 period.
10:39 And through these two laws, we will have doubled the budget for the Ministry of the Army.
10:48 We didn't wait for the war, but the French nation needs to be able to protect itself
10:55 against these new threats.
10:59 We also have a law on justice.
11:03 And this has led to an unprecedented investment by the government, more magistrates, more
11:11 people working as clerks and in the administration, investment in the penitentiary system, but
11:18 also deep reforms to serve better, more effective justice, closer to the people and fairer.
11:29 With regard to this Republican order, I think we all know today that we are based on solid
11:40 actions and we have worked hard and gone fast.
11:47 All the while, people were saying, "Oh, this government will never be able to get
11:50 their laws through."
11:51 And yet, in this past year, we have passed more laws than we did in the six previous
11:56 years.
11:57 We've reached agreements and we did use the Constitution to pass the pension reform law
12:12 because we can use the Constitution and we use it with respect, but determination as
12:17 well.
12:18 And so, yes, the country is moving forward with, of course, independence, justice, with
12:22 these four main pillars, these four courses that I have described that we have been building
12:27 resolutely and we will continue to act.
12:32 This summer means that we have to address in particular a follow-up to the uprisings
12:40 of the month of July.
12:42 We need to help mayors.
12:45 We did vote on a law for emergency assistance, which will enable people to go more quickly
12:50 with regard to handling questions of justice and also reconstruction of some infrastructures
13:00 that were burned or damaged, and so that they can go back into operation as quickly as possible.
13:05 We must continue to support our forces of law and order so that they can continue working.
13:13 And I want to congratulate them for their efforts on the 13th and 14th of July, but
13:18 they must be very rigorous, and they have been very rigorous in the days and weeks that
13:24 followed these uprisings.
13:27 We also have to work with families that are living in precarity and poverty.
13:32 We need to provide the necessary support structures to help them to have access to culture, sport
13:39 and education as we prepare for a new school year.
13:43 Children and teenagers must be prepared for this school year, and of course we have to
13:49 prepare for the school year in the best conditions possible.
13:54 Then there's the question of drought.
13:57 Many of the areas of France have already set up a plan for lack of water resources this
14:05 summer.
14:06 We need to work with farmers who have had a lot of difficulties in different sectors,
14:19 from suffering from the attacks of mildew disease and other problems facing both breeders
14:29 and growers.
14:32 So we need to focus on the future of these agricultural sectors.
14:36 And then of course there's purchasing power, which is a significant issue with the increase
14:41 in energy prices this summer, even if they are going up less deeply here than in neighboring
14:46 countries.
14:48 And then of course there's access to health care, which is also an urgent problem.
14:54 It will take several years for structural reforms to be fully deployed, but we need
14:59 to be especially vigilant with regard to emergency services.
15:05 We made some decisions last year, and I think we will need to keep monitoring this situation
15:09 very closely.
15:10 So these are the four urgent subjects for the summer.
15:14 And then we have the month of September, when we have the return to school and return to
15:19 work after the holidays.
15:25 The French nation, a sporting nation, will be entering into a period when we have to
15:30 really project our image of joy, pride, and collective organization, because we will be
15:36 welcoming the Olympic Games.
15:39 And we want these games to be held in full security.
15:44 First of all, we will be having the World Rugby Cup.
15:52 And then we will enter into the final phases of preparation for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic
15:59 Games.
16:00 We're just about a year away from those games.
16:01 So these two events, the Rugby Cup and the Olympic Games, will really be an image of
16:11 our nation and of the pride that we have in our nation, from school to culture to the
16:16 life in our regions, also talking about the tourism, fine French cuisine, and safety as
16:24 well.
16:25 All of the ministries will be mobilized for these efforts.
16:29 But we must be exemplary, and we must be proud and give hope to our nation.
16:36 And then, as of September, we will also be preparing the country for a very demanding
16:49 exercise regarding public finances.
16:54 With the ministers in charge of budget and finance, public accounts, we'll be looking
17:01 at environment, school, health, and we will be defining a public financing strategy that
17:11 will enable us to be credible and strong, to follow the course for reimbursing the debt,
17:18 continuing to lower taxes, and reasonably managing our deficit.
17:23 Because this is what gives France credibility within Europe and enables us to pursue our
17:27 strategy that has been ours for the past six months, strong France within Europe and a
17:33 Europe more sovereign and more independent and more fair.
17:40 France can lead these reforms within Europe if we are credible in our own country.
17:47 We will bring all of the political forces around the table to share our constraints,
17:52 because these are the constraints that we have to face up to.
17:56 We will have the environmental planning that will, of course, be very important as of September
18:00 when we come back to work.
18:02 There's the question of immigration, which is also on the table.
18:06 And we will be working with constructive and Republican opposition members.
18:13 There will be a significant reform to be carried out with a robust text that has pragmatic
18:20 answers to many questions.
18:21 But I will certainly come back to this later.
18:23 I think we need to advance methodically on this subject.
18:27 And we will have to be responding to the unrest that the country experienced in the month
18:37 of July.
18:41 There's a risk of a deep fragmentation of our nation and divisions within our people.
18:48 So we need both authority and respect and legitimate hope.
18:55 We need to provide a deep, complete answer to this unrest.
19:01 The Prime Minister and myself have asked several of you to work on what lessons we might draw
19:09 from this period of unrest.
19:11 And this is something that we will also be working on closely as of September.
19:16 And once again, I talked about justice earlier.
19:19 And we must develop our collective capacity to respond to the challenges of the moment.
19:26 And it should be a humanist response, including authority, including a demanding nature.
19:35 We need to be able to build and forge the citizens of tomorrow using culture, education.
19:43 We have to work with families, families that we can support so that education can be carried
19:55 out in families as well, because it's not up to only the school system to educate young
19:59 people.
20:01 And finally, a word on method before I give the floor to the Prime Minister.
20:06 This course that I have outlined, this is something that we will be following along
20:14 together in an exemplary manner.
20:17 And I say this because this is what the people is expecting from the members of our government,
20:24 to serve a collective project, to serve the population of France.
20:30 People are watching you and all the details of your action, your work.
20:35 And what we owe the country is to act, to explain, to respond, and to do so with dignity
20:46 and the respect that we owe our compatriots.
20:50 And sometimes violent language and inappropriate behavior takes up too much space in public
20:57 life.
20:58 And we're expecting the French government to be exemplary and to make French people
21:03 proud.
21:05 So let's do that.
21:07 And then we're also expected to work together.
21:11 There is no individual success if there is a collective failure.
21:15 So this is a coherent project that you must serve together, a course that we will follow
21:20 in a united manner.
21:22 You need to be effective.
21:24 A lot of the crisis of democracy that we're experiencing today is linked to the fact that
21:30 decisions don't come quickly enough.
21:33 A problem comes and by the time an announcement is made, months or years may pass before any
21:42 real changes are felt amongst the people.
21:45 So we have to double our efforts to be more efficient so that real life changes, so that
21:52 the decisions that you make and the authority that you show actually implements decisions
21:59 that will change the everyday life of our fellow citizens.
22:04 Ministers have to manage their ministries.
22:11 Being a minister doesn't just mean talking on television.
22:16 It means implementing measures that correspond to a defined strategy, to the policies defined
22:24 by the prime minister, and through the decisions that you take, you implement these policies
22:30 and you must direct your ministries.
22:34 This is indispensable.
22:36 You have to work as close to the population as possible.
22:40 And the more your decisions serve the people, the more your results will be effective and
22:48 will be effectively felt.
22:52 We also have to take account of the members of parliament, both the majority and the opposition.
23:01 And we have to work with local elected authorities as well.
23:04 Mayors are indispensable to our policy in order to make it more efficient, effective
23:09 and understood.
23:10 And this is why in the coming months I will work on this new method that we have called
23:16 the National Council for Refoundation.
23:21 And beginning September, I will continue to focus on changing these methods, in particular
23:30 with regard to health and education, so that decisions can be made on a local level with
23:34 stakeholders on the ground.
23:38 So it's not just people receiving instructions.
23:46 We have to give people a clear direction and then let people who are working in the field
23:52 do their job intelligently and with a certain degree of flexibility.
23:57 And this is the method that I would expect you to apply.
24:01 Madam Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, ministers, this is what I wanted to say to
24:06 this Council of Ministers, to defend the coherence of the actions that have been carried out
24:11 under the authority of the Prime Minister, and to encourage you all to follow through
24:16 on this course and to take account of the current emergency situations.
24:23 Thank you, Mr. President.