Backlash from pushing for pension-immigration law amendments
Born resigned, who has been with him since the first term of office.
Posting a boxing video, “Olympic D-200”
Aiming for a change of pace with three years left in office
Elisabeth BornFrench President Emmanuel Macron, facing a decline in approval ratings due to raising the pension age and revising the immigration law, attempted to overcome the crisis by reshuffling his cabinet, including replacing the prime minister. Prime Minister Elisabeth Born, who served as France’s second female prime minister, resigned on the 8th shortly after President Macron’s second term in office began in April 2022.
Gabriel AttalAccording to French daily Le Monde, President Macron nominated Education Minister Gabriel Attal as his successor as prime minister on the 9th. He is a 35-year-old ‘young blood’.
At the end of December last year, four ministers who opposed the revision of the Immigration Act announced their resignation, and recent movements against President Macron have been detected in the Cabinet and the ruling Renaissance Party. In this situation, attention is being paid to whether President Macron, who is facing the European Parliament election in June and the 2024 Paris Olympics in July as Iran’s ambassador, will be able to raise his approval rating and regain control of state affairs with a cabinet reshuffle.
President Macron accepted former Prime Minister Born’s resignation on the 8th. Former Prime Minister Born served as Minister of Transport, Environment, and Labor from 2017 to 2022, during President Macron’s first term in office. He led railroad reform as transportation secretary and unemployment insurance reform as labor secretary. When President Macron succeeded in coming back to power, he was a key confidant to the point of becoming prime minister.
Immediately after announcing the resignation of former Prime Minister Born, who is stepping down after 20 months, President Macron posted a photo of him smiling brightly and talking with him on social media However, former Prime Minister Born revealed in his resignation letter that he was not resigning of his own will, saying, “It is more necessary than ever to continue reforms.” In France, the president appoints the prime minister, but cannot dismiss him; instead, he asks for his resignation.
Former Prime Minister Born was pressured to resign several times from the opposition party as the Macron administration pushed various reform policies. When it became difficult to pass the pension reform bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 in March last year due to the ruling party’s failure to secure a majority, he passed the bill without a vote in the House of Representatives. As a result, it became the target of the opposition party amidst public opposition for pursuing reforms in defiance of the National Assembly.
Recently, there has been added controversy surrounding the new immigration law, which drastically narrows the immigration window and effectively makes unregistered residents illegal. The demands of the extreme right were largely reflected and it was successfully passed through the National Assembly at the end of last year, but moderates and progressives expressed considerable dissatisfaction. In the end, as President Macron’s position became increasingly narrow, with more than three years remaining in his term, he chose to replace the prime minister in order to change the situation.
On the 8th, President Macron attracted attention by posting a video of himself boxing with boxing gloves on his shoulders. He said, “The Olympics start in 200 days. “Sports this year are a national cause,” he said, adding that he regularly boxed at the gym with his bodyguards. There is an interpretation that he was trying to emphasize the image of a strong leader by promoting the Paris Olympics.
However, a recent opinion poll showed that the ruling Renaissance Party’s approval rating is at least 10 percentage points behind the National Coalition led by far-right politician Marine Le Pen. President Macron’s approval rating, which exceeded 40% before and after re-election, has also not left the 30% range.
In this situation, attention is being paid to whether Minister Atal, who enjoys much support from young people, will be nominated as prime minister and bring new impetus to national affairs.
Minister Atal, who is a sexual minority, served as a government spokesperson during the first term of the Macron administration, served as public accounting minister in the early part of the second term, and became education minister in July of last year. After taking office, he banned the wearing of the traditional Islamic clothing ‘Abaya’ in schools. He is attracting a lot of attention by leading various educational reforms, such as revamping the 76-year-old examination system to improve basic academic ability. However, the opposition party is preparing to go through a vote of confidence in the new prime minister in the National Assembly, so it seems that chaos will be inevitable for the time being.
Paris =
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.