Macron Speech

I listened to the address of Macron and it seems as if he has lost the plot and is damned scared about what happened,

He is saying that that there is no denial the ignoring of the situation of ordinary French people - but for the rest promised that -

*   he will consult with Mayors of towns to see what can be done to bridge the gap between the government and the people;

*   the minim wage will be increased by Euro 100 - presumably per month and that major industry will be forced to increase the wages accordingly;

*    the government will look at the issue of poverty stricken pensioners; and

*   stop the green tax in 2019.

Is the above  to satisfy the protestors?   I am not sure.  He vaguely attacked some politicians as being behind the protests, but were they really?

The issue of the EU is not addressed and that Union is very unpopular in major components of the French population.  Did he have both the French flag and EU flags behind him and not only the French flag.   Was that wise?

It is not clear what impact of the salary increase will have on major employers.   Can they really afford the additional burden without reducing there staff complements.  Especially for marginal profit employers it could lead to serious difficulties. 

I may be cynical - but I have a feeling it will not stop the protests from continuing - despite him shouting Viva La France at the end of the speech with the EU flag so prominent.   He should have avoided that controversy at all costs and he did not.   

Has the horse bolted and is it too late to stop the riots by trying to buy off the protestors?    After all France is a very expensive country to live in and how long will the benefits last?  

Thank goodness you are at long last getting a glimmer. You may one day really understand what is happening ou maaaaikie - there is some hope for you. Cant say the same for dumbasses like rooitwit etc.

Ordinary people don't like their nations being invaded and their economies been destroyed. They hate Globalism and the elite globalist MSM who have been lying to them for decades. But the cat is now out of the bag to all but for the most obstinate brainwashed dumbasses.

Thank God for President Trump who got the ball really rolling! Cant wai t for Trump to bring down the hammer.

Beeno

Unlike you I do not go on and on about individuals - I look at the practical situation the people of countries find themselves in and comment on practical politics as a result.  In most countries the rich are getting richer and  the middle class and poor poorer,   That is a certain recipe for disaster.

The middle class - the bedrock of democracy is being destroyed systematically by some leaders working with bodies like the UN and the EU.   That cannot be anything that can benefit democracy in any country.   Then they try and cover it on humanist theories forgetting to be humanist themselves to care for the people who elected them in the first place.

I see a situation arising where the present governments self-destruct - such as happening in the UK before our own eyes already and it is bound to start collapsing in other countries where it already happened,           

When I wrote the above it seemed to me that the speech would not be regarded a adequate by the protestors.   I  think that in some way my comments are supported by the following article from the Telegraph:-

Emmanuel Macron on Monday night decreed a “state of social and economic emergency” in France, offering a string of generous sweeteners he hopes will quell a month-long “yellow vest” revolt that has left his young presidency on the ropes.

In a pre-recorded national address broadcast across various media and no doubt the most crucial in his 18-months in office, Mr Macron said France was at a “historic juncture” and issued a mea culpa saying: “I know that I have managed to wound some of you through my comments.”

Acceding to several key demands of the “yellow vests”, the president pledged to raise the minimum wage by €100 per month from 2019 without costing a euro to the employer. Overtime will be free of tax and charges, he said, while businesses who gave end-of-year bonuses would pay no extra taxes. 

Mr Macron also announced he would reverse a new levy for pensioners with incomes less than €2,000 per month. “The effort asked of them was too great and not fair,” he said.

However, many “gilets jaunes” protesters around France appeared unconvinced.

The 40-year old centrist was under intense pressure to avoid fresh damage and bloodshed after successive weekends of violent riots in Paris and other cities that have seen 4,523 arrests and already stripped France of 0.1 per cent of GDP growth, according to its finance minister.     

Meanwhile, thousands of “gilets jaunes” have been blocking roads and roundabouts for almost a month in an outpouring of anger over perceived high taxes for the poor and overwhelming accusations that he is an arrogant, out-of-touch “president of the rich”.

Many were furious that he had remained silent to their fury, hunkered down in the Elysée over the past few days despite the ambiance of quasi-insurrection. Many simply want the ex-banker to step down.  

But Mr Macron stood firm on Monday night on his controversial decision to partially scrap France’s totemic wealth tax - another key demand from many “gilets jaunes”. To do so, he said, would “weaken us”. 

The president, who has abruptly become the least popular leader in modern French history after a dream start, said that the anger of peaceful “yellow vest” protesters was “fair and can be our opportunity”. 

He said that their movement was the result of “forty years of malaise” that “we ended up getting used to.. out of cowardice”.

However, he slammed the “unacceptable outpouring of violence” of vandals. “No anger justifies attacking a police officer or public property," he said.

r Macron also made it clear he intended to push on with planned reforms of social security and pensions. He also said he would start a tour of France’s mayorships during three months of local talks. “We will not simply start our lives back up as before as if nothing had changed,” he promised.

Despite a string of concessions ahead of his speech, including scrapping the green tax on diesel and petrol that sparked the unrest, many protesters had already taken to social media to call for an “Act V” of radical action..

Stunned by the savagery of the personal attacks and violence of the protests, Mr Macron had gone off radar for a week, with some aides even fearing he could be the victim of an attempted putsch.

“I have never known under the Fifth Republic such hostility against a president,” said political analyst Jérôme Jaffré. “It is a personal affair between a part of the country and president, hence the incredible stakes of this speech.”

“This is the start of Act II of his presidency where Macron II fiercely has criticised Macron,” he said.

Political opponents dismissed the proposals.

Eric Woerth of the opposition Right-wing Republicans said “tomorrow’s purchasing power will pay for today’s measures”.

Far-Right leader Marine Le Pen said Mr Macron had “given up on some his tax errors, so much the better”, but said he “refused to admit that it is the model he champions that is contested”. 

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, head of the Leftists Unbowed France party, called on protesters to take to the streets once again next Saturday.

As for the “gilets jaunes”, reactions were mixed.  Jeremy Clément, one “yellow vest” spokesman, said the proposals were a start and “coherent” but remained “crumbs”.

“We can’t be content with a €100 rise (in minimum wage),” he said.

In one hall in Galargues, in the Hérault, southern France, some pensioners applauded at the tax breaks but many said they would continue the protests.

Karl Toquard, yellow vest spokesman at a roundabout in Gaillon, Normandy, was adamant. He told the Telegraph: “There was nothing for us. We’re staying put.”

Mozart

Can the U K let go of Northern Ireland and not set a precedent for Scotland to leave the UK as well?

I took a look at leFigaro  and they have a long list of places where protests are ongoing.    Does not seem if the protestors are believing Macron's speech a s settling the problem.   

Mozart

I think that Ireland had a chance of succeeding as an independent state.  Basically initially the Irish state counted a lot on financial assistance of the millions of Irish living in the USA.   They developed industry - but I am sure you know that they went through a dire  time during the last decade.

Personally I do not think that Scotland will be financial viable as an independent country.   As you stated they will have to take over part of the huge debts of the UK  especially in the case of direct expenditure to upgrade the Scottish infrastructure.  

Embattled French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced a series of financial measures seeking to defuse the "yellow vest" revolt that has triggered violent protests in cities across the country.

In a 15-minute televised speech from the Elysee Palace, a sombre-looking president told the nation, "I accept my share of responsibility" for the crisis.

The former investment banker struck a more humble tone than usual as he sought to address criticism of his style of leadership.

Macron stressed, however, that the protests by mostly low-income people in small town or rural France were the result of long-term problems.

"Their distress doesn't date from yesterday. We have ended up getting used to it," he said.

"These are forty years of malaise that have come to the surface."

Among the measures Macron announced was a €100 monthly increase in the minimum wage as of next year, for which businesses would not have to foot the bill.

The minimum wage was set at €1 498 a month pre-tax in 2018 and €1 185 after tax.

Macron's government had previously suggested that any increase in the minimum wage would destroy jobs rather than help create them.

But the protests, which have seen rioting in Paris and other cities and taken a heavy financial toll, are the biggest challenge for Macron since he came to power in May 2017 promising to revitalise the economy.

Since then his popularity has fallen with critics saying he favours the rich and alienates people struggling, especially in provincial France.

Pensions, overtime

The 40-year-old centrist also announced he would roll back most of an unpopular increase in taxes on pensioners introduced by his government.

And he called on all businesses "that can afford it" to give employees a one-off "end of year bonus" which would be tax free.

In another move to appease protesters' anger, Macron said he would do away with all wage taxes on overtime work.

Macron, who has been in power for the past 18 months, on Monday held four hours of crisis talks with government ministers, parliamentary leaders, business and labour representatives and regional officials.

He had previously vowed that unlike his predecessors he would not be swayed by street protests.

But in an initial attempt to quell the revolt now in its fourth week, the government agreed last week to cancel a planned increase in anti-pollution fuel taxes - the spark behind the "yellow vest" protests in car-dependent rural and suburban France.

But the move was seen as too little, too late by the protesters, who held a fourth round of demonstrations on Saturday to press for further concessions on reducing inequality.

The campaign of nationwide road blockades and weekend protests in Paris and other cities over four consecutive weekends, which degenerated into destruction and looting, have taken a toll on the French economy.

Nationwide an estimated 136 000 people turned out for the protests last weekend - the same number as a week earlier.

Since the start of the protests, more than 4 500 people have been detained, police said.

Speaking of the violent actions of some of the protesters, who notably set fire to barricades on the Champs-Elysees and defaced the Arc de Triomphe monument, Macron said his government would show no leniency.

"No anger justifies attacking a policeman (...) When violence breaks out, freedom ceases to be," he said.

'Yellow vest' reaction

Reactions to his speech from the "yellow vests" were hard to judge as the movement is leaderless and has refused to come under the sway of political parties or trade unions.

Some protesters, interviewed on French television, acknowledged that Macron had made some "concessions", but added that these were "insufficient" to call the protests off.

"This time, there really is some progress. My smile got bigger and bigger as he spoke," said Erwan, one of the movement's "spokesmen" in the northwestern town of Rennes.

But, for Pierre-Gael Laveder, in the eastern town of Montceau-les-Mines, "Macron hasn't taken the full measure of what is going on".

"Everyone of his announcements was booed and the first overall reaction was 'he thinks we are fools'," Laveder added.

Right-wing opposition leader Marine Le Pen, Macron's rival in last year's presidential run-off election, welcomed some of the tax measures announced, but accused Macron of being the harbinger of "savage" globalisation.

"He refuses to admit it's the (economic) model which he champions which is itself called into question," she added.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, who heads the left-wing opposition Unbowed France, said Macron was mistaken if he thought "a distribution of money" will calm "the insurrection".

The European Commission, which monitors EU members' finances, said it would study the budgetary impact of Macron's measures which are expected to cost billions of euros.

"We are monitoring the potential new measures announced, but we cannot comment until they are properly announced and detailed," said Valdis Dombrovskis, the commissioner for the euro.

I was rather surprised by what is in the above article and there are a few issues to be mentioned in that regard:-

The Minim Wage Issue 

France is a very, very expensive  country to live in.   According to the above report –

*    the minimum wage in 2018 was set  at Euro  1498; but

*    taxation actually reduce that to Euro 1185.  

That means even the lowest paid worker has to fork out Euro 309 in taxation.  So what will happen with the Euro 100 now promised by  Macron?   Near to 21% of the amount will drop into the bottomless  tax hole in France,   Other deductions will reduce the amount to Euro  68

Will that be enough to satisfy the lower paid French workers?   I do not think so.

The Pension Factor

Even the concessions given is unlikely to materially improve the life of pensioners.     It is likely that most of the pensioners in fact gets a pension of  circa Euro Euro 900  per month – I do not ahve the exact figures though,  

Bearing in mind the extremely high living cost in France they must be suffering to have 1 meal a  day with that kind of income.

The EU factor

The EU  can in fact nullify the promises since it will have such a big impact on the French budget that it would not pass EU rules on budgeting.   That meaning the concessions may not even be implemented.  

Why get migrants from countries that will not integrate easily in German society and exclude people for Eastern Europe which will integrate much easier?   The woman has lost the plot completely. 

They could even get 500 000 white workers from SA that are from German, Dutch, English and Flemish descent - who will soon have to escape from SA because of racial reasons..