“The French would forgive us neither inaction nor any form of weakness. So I want to step on the accelerator with strong measures,” the Prime Minister declared on Tuesday January 16 in front of the deputies of his relative majority. Gabriel Attal spoke for the first time in Parliament before the intergroup of Renaissance, MoDem and Horizons deputies, even before delivering his general policy declaration next week.
The new head of government, however, said he was “perfectly lucid” about the “difficult context” in which he was appointed, “with uncertain economic prospects” and “a political context […] tense, even more so with the deadline European elections coming up, where the oppositions will do even fewer gifts”. He wanted to construct this general policy declaration “with” parliamentarians and with the French “through a series of trips”.
“We must take a certain number of directions, courageous decisions which will give rise to debate and controversy, but which are in line with our values, our DNA,” he declared. “There is a major expectation in our country around the valorization of work” and French people who earn “above what you need to have to be able to benefit from aid, and below what you need to have to be able to cope on their own.”
These French people risk switching “towards a political offer which may seem attractive because it gives the impression that it is going to kick in the anthill, but which, each time it has had to decide on orientations in favor of these French people, has never sided with them,” warned Mr. Attal, referring to the National Rally, favored by the Europeans.
Regarding the school, Mr. Attal intends to “assume this policy of high standards and excellence at all levels”
The Prime Minister took the opportunity to decline some of his main orientations, such as “continuing to encourage work”, because it “allows us to finance our social model, our public services and solidarity”. He also placed emphasis on “public services”, which he wants to be “always more efficient”.
On the subject of school, Mr. Attal intends to “assume this policy of high standards and excellence at all levels” and on health, he judged that “we probably need to go a step further”.
As for security, he wanted to “show that we are a society of rights and duties”, of “respect for authority”, even if “it is probably the most difficult, because it cannot be resolved by a law, decree or order”.
When it comes to climate, “we have to be extremely offensive” and “not let our opposition explain that they are more ambitious than us.” “Leaving our country to extremes which have only one ambition, taking power to keep power and making money from the difficulties that the French are experiencing, that would not be entirely patriotic,” he concluded .
