On Bastille Day François Hollande gave his Presidential interview. It was the first large-scale interview given since his election in May and with the ‘tweetgate’ scandal still rocking the media Hollande took pains to repair the damage made to his “Mr Normal” image.
The French President asserted his view that ‘Private matters are settled privately’ – a somewhat different stance than that taken by his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy. Hollande also stated that the ethical side of political life needed attention and that a commission would be established to ensure reform in that area would occur.
However, after only disappointingly brief allusions to ‘tweetgate’, Hollande refused to further discuss personal affairs. He instead spent the majority of the interview promising to jumpstart the economy.
The French economy has been stagnant of late, and the government is still under pressure to secure the 33 billion Euros required in order to meet the 2013 European deficit targets.
Despite this, Hollande appeared confident that he could lead the economy down the right path, vowing to make employment and growth key concerns and to improve competitiveness.
He expressed his belief that raising Value Added Tax (VAT) would ‘weaken economic growth and hit purchasing power’ and consequently promised that an increase in VAT would not occur. Hollande was less decisive when questioned about the possible CSG social welfare tax increase. He merely described it as ‘one resource among others’ before repeating that it would be the wealthy, and not the middle class, that would be most affected by any tax hikes.
During Saturday’s traditional Bastille interview Hollande was asked directly about the plans of car manufacturer Peugeot. There was public uproar on July 12 when Peugeot announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs. The president replied forcefully, calling the plan ‘unacceptable’ and promising that it would be renegotiated after state intervention. He also made some noncommittal comments about the introduction of incentives to encourage the purchasing of French-made cars.
When commenting on his signing of the European stability pact Hollande grew defensive. He stated that: ‘I renegotiated the pact and we reached a compromise, making sure growth was as much of a target as fiscal discipline’.
Although Hollande was attempting to reassure the population of possibilities for economic growth he was quick to point out that progress wouldn’t be made overnight, adding that: ‘Measures to balance the budget are a commitment for a few years.’
Hollande is now the only left wing president in Europe and was keen reassert his position as a promoter of growth over austerity. While his interview may have allowed the French populace to breathe a sigh of relief, other Euro-zone members have shown just how quickly the situation can change.
Comments are closed.