The structural reforms carried by Emmanuel Macron, in particular pensions and unemployment insurance, “remain relevant” in a political, economic and social context upset by the health crisis, assures in the Sunday Journal the budget rapporteur, Laurent Saint-Martin. “It’s just the calendar which is being rethought in the light of the crisis”, explains the deputy LREM, underlining the limits of the massive indebtedness decided by the executive to prevent the collapse of the economy since last March. .
The debate on a resumption of pension reform, in particular, has reappeared recently in the majority. The reform of the government had generated several days of strikes and demonstrations in late 2019, early 2020.
“It is growth that will repay the debt”
For Laurent Saint-Martin, “resuming discussions with the social partners, debates in Parliament, on the basis of the text adopted at first reading in the National Assembly, is not realistic and desirable. The situation has changed, and so have the ministers. But pension reform remains on our agenda ”. “The” work more “will be one of the keys to generate growth, he continues in the JDD. This concept, often criticized, is not just a question of working time. But also a number of people who work. Reducing structural unemployment remains one of our objectives ”.
According to Mr. Saint-Martin, who rules out budgetary austerity, “there are four levers” to start reducing France’s debt: “A rise in inflation, that is not the case today. A tax hike, we refuse. Reduce public spending. There it is a question of carrying out effective and fair structural reforms. Finally, boost growth. This is our priority axis and the object of the recovery plan, which should increase it by 1.5% ”.
“It is growth that will repay the debt, because the economy is a dynamic”, also estimated Senator LR Bruno Retailleau, interviewed at mid-day on BFMTV. Mr. Retailleau, one of the contenders for a right-wing presidential candidacy in 2022, advocated “an investment shock” and “the upgrading of work, through desocialization and tax exemption for overtime”.
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