“News stories are being highlighted and used to illustrate what would be a broader societal trend,” Christian Mouhanna, a French sociologist whose research focuses on security issues, told POLITICO. “The idea that there is a massive increase in crime is false.”
According to Mouhanna, trying to counter the rise of the far right by adopting its favorite themes often backfires, as parties like the National Rally will increasingly push for tougher anti-crime policies.
“Political leaders tend to put security issues at the top of the agenda when they risk appearing incompetent on other fronts,” he said. “Given the recent deficit figures, it appears that the government is in trouble on the economic front, where it has tried to present itself as being most comfortable.”
Continuing Macron’s reform agenda
The French government was forced to announce spending cuts of 10 billion euros twice this year after missing its deficit target, which it attributed to lower-than-expected growth and tax revenues.
“If we had the same employment rate as the Germans, we would have virtually no problem balancing our budgets,” Attal said during his interview on Thursday.
Attal confirmed his intention to continue Macron’s pro-market reform agenda, including stricter access to unemployment benefits to encourage job seekers to accept job offers, and a $2 billion tax cut. euros for the “middle class”, provided that these funds are offset by spending cuts. .
With 100 days as prime minister, Attal was viewed favorably by nearly half of those surveyed in an Odoxa poll, outperforming all his predecessors since the start of the Macron presidency in 2017. The French prime minister is now considered the better placed to represent the centrist camp in the 2027 presidential election, according to a recent poll.
However, with the National Rally still in the lead and the government coalition still fragile, lacking an absolute majority, the coming months could prove very difficult for the non-conformist of Matignon.
Politices
