Standing in the dark night, in front of the flags of the Olympic nations in the gardens of the Elysée Palace on Sunday, December 31, President Emmanuel Macron delivered his best wishes to the French people for 2024. A year of "determination, choice, regeneration, pride," the head of state hammered home in a serious tone, as if to counteract the wear and tear of his power after a year of crises. 2024 will be, he promises, a landmark year for France.
After six and a half years as head of state, but struggling to "keep acting, in the nation's interest," the President of the Republic painted a bleak picture of a France in 2023 beset by external threats and internal fractures. "The fear of the return of war, of social downgrading, of losing control are all there," he said, citing the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and paying tribute to the 41 French citizens murdered in the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7.
Inflation "which makes everything more difficult," as well as "divisions" and "acts of hatred, sometimes violence" also weaken "the cohesion of the nation," he added, alluding to last summer's riots which shocked the country − even as the government has yet to give an answer deemed convincing by the French.
"I'm well aware of impatience, and I dare say I share it, even if the initial changes are visible," he said, ready to do "more and faster," and convinced that "the best can come out of this context of crises." The President of the Republic dismissed out of hand the political crisis that has gripped his governing coalition since the immigration law was voted by parliament on December 19, with the votes of the far-right Rassemblement National party. This came at the cost of the resignation of Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau, and a general malaise shared by other members of the government and a host of majority MPs. However, Macron preferred to praise "strength of character, a virtue in difficult times."
While the immigration law borrows from the far-right concept of "national preference", by distinguishing between foreign and French workers when providing social benefits, Macron presented it as necessary to "combat smugglers and illegal immigration" and "better integrate those who have the right to remain on our soil: refugees, students, researchers, workers."
The "rearmament" of the country, a term used seven times, suggests that the head of state, in addition to carrying out his program, had to make up for past shortcomings. France, Macron boasted, had been "rearmed," thanks to his actions and to "historic laws" on the army and the justice system. The pension reform, which triggered the first crisis of the president's second five-year term, has made it possible "to finance our social model," and the unemployment insurance reform should help the country reach full employment.
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