In his general policy declaration, delivered a month after his arrival at Matignon, François Bayrou made his decisions on pension reform, which he wished to restart. “without taboo”following difficult negotiations undertaken with part of the left, to remove the specter of a motion of censure, without however antagonizing its Republican and Macronist allies.
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The Prime Minister also stressed the need to adopt without delay the State and Social Security budgets for 2025, still in arrears, despite “the sword of Damocles of the motion of censure” Who “seems to have installed precariousness at the top of the State”. In this perspective, he promised “significant savings”without specifying its nature, and “a powerful movement for public action reform”with “redesigned budgets”. Here are the main points of his speech:
Retirement reform “under construction”
François Bayrou wanted to postpone the pension reform “under construction”by bringing together the social partners on Friday and asking “ a flash mission » to the Court of Auditors to establish a diagnosis. “The 2023 law provided that the legal age of departure would increase to 63 at the end of 2026. A window of opportunity therefore opens. I would like to set a shorter term deadline, that of [cet] autumn (…). We can seek a new path of reform, without any totem and without any taboo, not even the retirement age – the famous 64 years –, provided that it meets the set requirement. he added. The Prime Minister warns, however, that “if the partners do not agree, the current reform would continue to apply”.
Creation of a special fund dedicated to state reform
The Prime Minister announced the creation of a special fund ” entirely [consacré] to the reform of the State »believing that the “1,000 agencies or organs of the State constitute a labyrinth with which a rigorous country can hardly be satisfied”. This fund will be financed by assets “in particular real estate, which belongs to the public authorities, so as to be able to invest, for example, in the deployment of artificial intelligence in our public services”he clarified.
Creation of a “bank of democracy”
Wishing that the parties “can finance themselves without needing to use circumvention strategies”the Prime Minister said he wanted “the creation of a bank of democracy so that the financing of political parties and campaigns no longer depends on the choices of private banks, but can possibly be the work of public bodies placed under the control of Parliament”.
Reform of the voting system
François Bayrou proposed to move forward “on the reform of the legislative voting method” with “a proportional principle”emphasizing that he will have to “be rooted in the territories”. This reform “will force us to re-examine at the same time the question of the simultaneous exercise of local and national responsibility”added the Prime Minister.
Revision of growth forecast and deficit target
“The government has decided to review its growth forecast for 2025, it was 1.1% before the censorship, we set it at 0.9%, in accordance with the forecasts of the Banque de France. It will be proposed to set the public deficit objective for 2025 at 5.4% of GDP”announced the head of government, adding that the effort requested from communities will not be 5 billion euros, as envisaged by the Barnier government, but 2.2 billion.
Resumption of the study of the “yellow vests” grievance books
“We will have to resume the study of the lists of grievances which were presented by the “yellow vests””judge François Bayrou, so that they can express themselves “the often most unexpressed expectations which are those of social circles excluded from power”.
Corse
The head of government promised to “respect” the calendar “to achieve constitutional development by the end of 2025” for Corsica. The so-called Beauvau process, aimed at granting more autonomy to Corsica, was initiated in 2022 by Gérald Darmanin, then Minister of the Interior, at the request of Emmanuel Macron, but the dissolution of the National Assembly, in June 2024, put an end to the discussions. Many elected officials on the island feared its abandonment.
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New Caledonia
The Prime Minister hoped that negotiations would resume and be concluded at the end of this quarter. “I will invite, in January, the political forces to come to Paris to open these negotiations, asking the Minister for Overseas Territories to follow this issue in particular”he announced, judging that the archipelago “ must build its future”.
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Immigration
“It is our duty to conduct a policy of control, regulation and return to their country of those whose presence endangers, through their numbers, the cohesion of the nation”declared François Bayrou. Affirming that 93% of obligations to leave French territory (OQTF) are not executed, the head of government intends to reactivate “the interministerial committee for immigration control”.
Education
“I think that, in our school and university system, reorientations and changes in training must be accepted and even encouraged,” a declared the Prime Minister. “Parcoursup is a question”, he continued, also wishing to promote reading while “screens have now taken precedence over any other mechanism for transmitting knowledge”. “This issue is a national issue”he stressed.
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Environment
“Ecology, contrary to what some think, is not the problem, it is the solution, at least the solution that we favor”declared François Bayrou.
Agriculture
François Bayrou is committed to questioning “the pyramids of standards by giving the initiative to users. Those we control must have a say in the controls”he estimated, the day after a meeting with the main agricultural unions.
Accommodation
François Bayrou spoke out for “ a rethought and large-scale housing policy.” “We can go even further by reducing delays, reducing authorization requests, promoting densification, and facilitating changes in use”he estimated, adding that “this supposes relaunching rental investment and home ownership”.
Health
The government will propose “a notable increase” of the national Medicare spending target“which will improve the working conditions of caregivers and protect the most vulnerable,” promised the head of government. Moreover, “the measure of de-reimbursement of certain medications and consultations [envisagée lors des discussions budgétaires sous le gouvernement Barnier] will not be taken back”, he added. The Prime Minister also promised “full reimbursement of wheelchairs from 2025”.
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