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00:00No, and I'd like to here pay tribute to the successive governments, to our MPs who conducted
00:07a remarkable work in conditions that were very often difficult. But a lot of things have been
00:13done, decisions taken, useful for the country. However, let's be clear, this situation has
00:22made our policies less clear and has not allowed us to forge lasting coalitions in spite of all
00:30the efforts undertaken that I wish to acknowledge. Added to that was the attitude in certain
00:40left-wing MPs of the unbound party that created disruptions in parliament,
00:47worrying for the French people, very often could no longer relate to our institutions. Lastly,
00:54the parliamentary equation, let's be clear, was becoming difficult to maintain. Oppositions had
01:02said that they were going to present a no confidence motion in the autumn. So I noted
01:09a blockage that prevented the government from acting, which was becoming dangerous for France.
01:14Then there's the vote that was held on Sunday for the European elections on Sunday, which was
01:21clear. It was a vote on Europe, first and foremost on Europe, as I've always said. But the votes
01:28expressed placed the far-right forces at close on 40% and the extremes at close to 50%. It's a
01:37political fact that we cannot ignore. Our fellow citizens thereby expressed their concerns about
01:46security, immigration, cost of living issues, and said the emotion that they face, the tragic
01:56situations, difficult to pull through even when you're working. So daily difficulties, anger,
02:04resentment in towns and the countryside, they said that they were not listened to, respected,
02:11their difficulty in having access to basic services. To all these messages, we cannot
02:16remain indifferent, and we must provide a democratic response. That's why the response
02:23to my mind could not proceed from changes of government or coalitions that were not
02:30possible in Parliament, and the last few days have clearly demonstrated that,
02:36but required a dissolution that alone allows things to be clarified. We're at a point where
02:46our country has to address a great many challenges and cannot be blocked by extremes, and because
02:52it's an act of trust and confidence in our people, in our republican spirit and national
03:01common sense, so the return to the sovereign people is, in my view, the only republican decision.
03:08Now, this moment is that of clarification, and as I see it, an historic moment for our country.
03:17On Sunday, I emphasized that a legislative election should be held in the clarity of what
03:24was proposed, and we're there. Since Sunday evening, the masks are falling and the battle
03:33of values is erupting, and for all to see, it's a moment of truth between those who choose to
03:43prosper their own stock in trade and those who want France to prosper. What we've seen
03:51these past few days is clear. The republican right, at least that that is in charge, has,
03:58for the first time, forged an alliance with the far right, the extreme right, in speaking of the
04:05national rally, because its leaders continue to say that there are real and false French people
04:14rejecting the rule of law of the right, and all those who followed Mr Ciotti, the republican
04:21right, are turning their backs in a few hours on the legacy of General de Gaulle, Jacques Chirac,
04:28and Nicolas Sarkozy. On the side of the left, the republican left and its leaders,
04:35who, it appeared, had set out clear choices during the European election campaign on social
04:43democracy, the social market economy, Europe, they've just joined forces with the extreme left
04:51during the same campaign, was guilty of anti-Semitism, anti-parliamentarianism and
05:01breaking ranks with many republican values. Things are therefore clear today. We have
05:08alliances that are contrary to nature of both extremes, that agree on just about nothing,
05:14if only the positions to be shared, and won't be able to apply any programme whatsoever.
05:21On retirement pensions, do we think for a moment that Mr Ciotti, who wanted to go further than the
05:27government and increase the retirement age to 65, is going to govern with Mr Bardella,
05:34who for years has been promising the French people, together with Madame Le Pen, to return to
05:3960 or 62 retirement age? We can't really tell. On public financing, do we think Mr Ciotti and
05:46the republicans following that the presidential majority was too lax and we had to consolidate
05:54our publics, is going to govern with the national rally, whose programme was costed independently by
06:00a cost of at least 100 billion euros per year for our taxpayer? On these essential points of light,
06:07what is the consistency that unite these people to govern? Because that's what it's about tomorrow.
06:17On the other hand, what the Social Democrat MPs who are teaming up with the unbound France on aid
06:29to Ukraine, some want to help Ukraine, others want to help Russia, what are they going to decide on
06:34the Middle East? What are they going to decide about the values of the republic in relation to
06:40parliament? What will they decide about nuclear power and energy on each of these key issues? And
06:46I could run through the list. They believe the opposite. So, these alliances are just
06:54tinkering of parties, but in no sense a majority to govern. On our side, we have the progressive
07:02central bloc, democratic and republic, this bloc that unites political families that each have
07:08their own identity, has learned to work together for seven years now. It's united and clear in how
07:17it views the republic, Europe, and it's the bedrock of a consistent government project that I believe
07:24is useful for the country. We're not perfect. We haven't done everything well, but we've achieved
07:29results. We've protected the French people during crises, and above all, we'll be able to act in
07:36order to reindustrialize the country, move to full unemployment, strengthen our public services,
07:42accelerate the energy transition, guarantee the country's unity, face forces of hatred,
07:50reject brutal relations, help Ukraine and Europe address the challenges today and tomorrow of our
07:59fellow citizens. This current presidential majority, I would like its leaders to talk to
08:07individuals and forces that are not members of it today. Above all,
08:14on the 30th of June and 7th of July, the French people should
08:21elect a maximum number of MPs from the majority, but should come together before or after,
08:28men and women of goodwill, who together will have been able to say no to extremes but will
08:34be in a position to build a common project that is both sincere and useful for the country.
08:43Between now and the election, and once the election over, we'll believe, and I say that we
08:50must, and we will need to have an exacting, constructive and open dialogue and think of the
08:59best way of serving France together. And I say here, bring together and not rally, because I'm
09:07aware of the disagreements that exist on certain issues with the leaders of these political parties.
09:14I'm convinced that social democrats, radicals, environmentalists, Christian democrats,
09:24Gaullists, and more broadly, many of our fellow citizens and political leaders who don't recognize
09:32themselves in the extremist fever, who can rally around some clear policies that are upheld by the
09:41current majority, can work with these leaders and build a new program, a federation of projects in
09:50order to govern, to act at the service of the French people and the Republic. And for that,
09:57we must be clear as to the ideal we're pursuing. There are some priority areas and the method to be
10:06followed. This is what I will attempt to set out. First item of common vision around which the
10:15majority will follow going forward is the protection of our republican values and thereby the
10:24protection of our fellow citizens. I said the rise of the far right must be heard in the message
10:30that is sending. Many of our fellow citizens who've expressed themselves said they have profound
10:37doubts as to what we're becoming and the existential fear of dispossession that they're
10:45not sufficiently listened to or considered. The fight against this sentiment of dispossession
10:52requires heightened firmness against all those who view French citizens as some of rights a la carte.
11:01It also implies rights and obligations for the nation and more republican authority to implement
11:11it. A lot has been done. I can return to that during the questions. Recruitment of policemen,
11:21of judges, fight against separatism, against drug trafficking, law and immigration,
11:30but we're bound to recognize that this wasn't sufficiently seen, understood by the French people.
11:37We must implacably continue to act for more security and more firmness, implement the laws
11:45that have been passed such as a European text to reduce illegal immigration, also take simple daily
11:54decisions. The state managing the question of unaccompanied minors who are a security issue
12:03in many countries also respond more firmly to the rise of delinquent violence. There are a number
12:12of radical measures being prepared and respond to this sense of impunity that exists. We've
12:18increased the resources of the justice system, but faster, clearer and more visible sentences
12:28to be applied. Republican authority at every level with the clear items that I've just outlined,
12:37strengthening our regalian posture. I wish to say this clearly. What we're proposing is more
12:46firmness, but within the republic and its values. That's what opposes us to the two blocs,
12:53to the two extremes that I referred to. What's proposed today by the extreme left is a response
13:02through community-based politics and
13:07laxism. The right wants to exit through its own values, respond to immigration by no longer
13:17respecting the principle of alliance, that it's irrelevant. Make the French think that we should
13:23disavow our constitutional principles to effectively respond to security issues. We
13:30need to be firmer, but through the republic and by the republic, we must clearly recognise that
13:37this sense of dispossession places the question of secularism at the heart. The republic must
13:46respect all those who believe and all religions, being clear that never a religion should allow one
13:55to not respect the laws. We see controversies on the right because certain associations need to.
14:07There's a sense that secularism isn't always clearly applied. As President Chirac did some
14:1620 years ago, we must open up a big effort to calmly, in the nation and to place with all the
14:26elected representatives, all the community-based association companies, open up a major debate on
14:35secularism and address the issues that need to be decided upon. The protection of our republican
14:43values unfolds over the long term by educating republicans, citizens who are free. Having
14:56introduced civic education, artistic training, we have forged republican rights. Universal
15:03National Service must be rolled out between now and 2026. I'd like to stress a final point in this
15:11respect. What we're experiencing in the country that creates so much tension is first and foremost
15:19the failure of our model of integration. It requires efforts by schools, also an integration
15:31of all in a fair and balanced manner in economic life, and we must strengthen the fight against
15:38discrimination even if a lot has been done. There's too much economic discrimination. Access
15:45to jobs in our country is a possibility in a country that is plural and rich of its diversity
15:51to have a genuine republican integration. It is failing too often, leaning French people
16:02who are opposed to one another. We believe in this problem of integration through the republican
16:09universalism. The other political propositions that will be submitted by the far left, it's
16:19the fragmentation of the republic, community-based politics, and the far right, the exclusion of some
16:27either you're a true Frenchman or you're not, which they continue to say. The response through
16:34exacting republican universalism is what we believe in. Secondly, the vision for the next three weeks
16:46is the ecological and economic ambition. Even in the majority, we don't agree on anything. We all
16:56share the idea that the power and independence of France, as well as the funding of our social
17:04model, requires a strong economy and the work of all. On that, we have a record. What I'm saying
17:11really is not promises. We've created over two million jobs. We've begun to reindustrialize
17:18the country, defended its independence, strengthened its sovereignty, agricultural,
17:23industrial. We're preparing new tax on the green industry and agriculture that will resume as soon
17:31as the French people have expressed their confidence in this majority. This is a solid
17:36record. We want to strengthen reindustrialization, open up factories on our soil, recognition of
17:44labor, energy independence, agricultural independence. We believe we must free up
17:51the tax constraints that weigh on those who want to take initiatives, make life simpler
18:00for small and medium-sized companies, encourage work rather than inactivity. We want to invest
18:08in R&D, higher education technologies of the future where France must assume its full role.
18:15We never oppose economics and ecology and those who want to continue on French-style ecology,
18:22creating wealth, reduce greenhouse gases, accompany the most vulnerable who are legitimately worried
18:32faced with this transition. That's why the future government program will have to endorse
18:36powerful decisions such as eight new nuclear reactors vital for this transition. It's this
18:44economic ambition that will reduce the deficit through wealth creation and ambitious reforms,
18:54and government policy must continue to apply budgetary stringency so as not to
19:02make the country poorer or weaken the savings of our fellow citizens.
19:12Of course, it's clear uniting everyone and build paths of alliance with all the political leaders
19:18I've just referred to. What are the other offers in this regard? The far right tells us we have to
19:24choose between the environment and the economy. That's their plan. On the far right, there's no
19:36plan to strengthen the economy because they are abandoning everything that makes the country
19:43attractive to retain investment. So we can't say we're in favor of reinvestment and aggregate.
19:49If at the same time we're going to undermine all the reforms that have promoted reinvestment
19:54in the country as to the far left through its totally unreasonable taxation policy,
20:02they want to exit nuclear power still defended by a majority of that alliance. It's the impossibility
20:09of following a credible green path and the weakening of the country. So the two extreme
20:16blocks is a weakening of the country and our fellow citizens getting poorer.
20:25Second policy we believe in is that of progress and inequalities of destiny. We all want a
20:33protective model. We've demonstrated there's never been as much reinvestment in public services
20:42over the past seven years. France services and justice systems, 70% budget increase,
20:48security forces in our schools, a greater number of teachers not seen since the 90s,
20:56a pay increase for our health care workers. If the French model corrects inequality,
21:05it doesn't always prevent the course we must chart for the years to come is pretty clear
21:11in this regard. We must strengthen our ability to combat those who are lodged where they've
21:23grown up and to combat republican injustices that are unacceptable. The future government
21:30will have to have a strength and credible response in terms of access to health,
21:36combating medical deserts and also in terms of protecting and supporting our children and our
21:44youth. It's a key priority and for that we'll have to take strong measures. It will of course fall
21:51to the majority in the campaign in a government agreement or a platform for action to define this
22:00but for our children we must act far more. Public support for children for the first 1,000 days to
22:12the age of 20. Our children are not supported in the same manner depending on the districts that
22:21they come from and they are very often abandoned when they come from poorest backgrounds. We must
22:28increase benefits for children's allowances, family allowances to prevent these inequalities
22:38and then rebuild our republican schooling system and after the basic knowledge and increased number
22:46of classes the teachers will have greater educational freedom and heads will be able to hire
22:53more readily. Very simple thing, teacher training, respect for teachers, contract with parents,
23:00more mathematics, replacing hours of absence. These are initiatives that are vital for our
23:07children and our family and on children and youth to prevent inequalities. There's the question of
23:15screens and I think really that lies at the heart of future policies. All parents are faced with
23:20this, all experts hate this. Screen addiction is the root of all difficulties, harassment,
23:28dropping out of school and on the back of the work that's been done recently the government
23:34will have to take clear decisions to protect our children. Firstly by not allowing the use of
23:42telephones before the age of 11 and access to social media for 15. You need an age for the
23:50digital majority, it protects and we must train for that. Fourth, clear focus area, better daily
23:57living as you know and we've always focused about the need to be more effective. We've done a lot
24:05but our fellow citizens plainly have sent us a simple message, their life hasn't improved enough,
24:12they want their daily lives to improve more. Majority tangible responses, the minister started
24:21to do this on the question of the cost of energy and also cost of living. Work must pay better,
24:30lots been done but I want us to continue to be more ambitious in order to better share the
24:39income of work and wealth and what we've been able to do with bonuses that are tax exempt
24:49from the self-employed to salaries of large companies must be looked at again,
24:57helping those with modest incomes and we must address it. It's not costly for the public purse,
25:06it's freedom given to the self-employed, to companies to better pay their employees without
25:12these additional payroll costs. If those benefits weren't made available they wouldn't pay that
25:20money out and of course the minimum wage for all these poorly paid jobs for young people,
25:30access to housing and provide a real response to housing young people and I recognize here
25:40that we haven't made enough progress and I bear the responsibility for that. The question of
25:48pensions and the life of our retirees after a life of work, our seniors obviously want to
25:56spend a quiet retirement. We've increased the lowest pensions thanks to the pensions reform
26:05and also working under the previous term with other republicans of all sides,
26:14from communists to the republican right to improve pensions for farmers. I've heard a lot of rumors,
26:24I want to be clear, that pensions will be inflation indexed. The retirees shouldn't
26:34bear the brunt of things. We must be clear the majority, the presidential majority is the only
26:40one to propose this and the cost of living of those who work, young people, to have a real
26:45response. To go back on the pensions reform, that's to say to scrap what's been done for
26:52those with the most modest means but above all to bankrupt the pension system. The commission's
27:00report shows that we're not yet at break even. So let's hear them explain what they're proposing
27:07for our pensioners. They're proposing that they should no longer be able to pay their pensions or
27:12else to have far higher costs or at least pension contributions that will increase. So all those who
27:18go back on the pensions reform from the far right to the far left, it's either a plan to make
27:25employees poorer or to make the pensioners poorer. There's no miracle recipe because they don't want
27:32to extend working life. The only responsible plan, transparent that we did. Okay, it wasn't popular.
27:39I discovered that as a project that meets the ethic of response. We live longer, we have to
27:47work a bit longer, taking into account longer careers, the most difficult part. What are the two
27:53other forces, the opposition forces that I hope won't be joining the government? Simply something
28:00that is incompatible with preserving the cost of living of those who are in jobs or pensioners.
28:10Living better is to simplify things with government. We must move towards normative
28:17tax stability for the next three years, drastically simplify and lighten the links in communities to
28:26promote greater proximity and freedom. We must devolve more rapidly, bring greater simplicity,
28:37open up the questions of the major regions that have made decision-making more remote,
28:44empower our fellow citizens to take decisions and have efforts aimed at simplification, greater
28:53democratic vitality to avoid the answer being additional spending. To live better is to
29:00recognize that in certain towns, certain rural areas, we must have a far more drastic response
29:08when it comes to access to public transport, to housing. A lot has been done, but things aren't
29:15moving fast enough. It's not well-perceived tangible. We need a fully-fledged revolution
29:21on that front. And the fifth point to build this ideal is the diplomatic policy and the
29:30place of France. There's a consistency in all the government forces. We have the same vision
29:37of the country of its diplomacy, France, power of peace and balance, relationship with Ukraine,
29:46the position regarding the Middle East, but our place in Europe and our vision of Europe
29:51of an independent with two military programs that have doubled the budget of the armed forces.
30:04So the two extremes do not allow us to have this on the extreme left. There's a balkanization of
30:10our policies and diplomacy, and it's not really the sort of diplomacy that would work either in
30:16the Middle East or Ukraine, because it really means standing up to certain forces and nuclear
30:24deterrence and standing up to the others. And if you look at the extreme right at a historical
30:30moment in our lives, in our city, in our country, they are proposing her to leave NATO. This is
30:38also something which is going to have a huge impact on our diplomacy, on our balance and
30:45create ambiguity in our relations with Russia. So our point is to clarify what we stand for,
30:52that is to have ideals that are made clear in our proposals to the French citizens. And I think that
31:03we can run a campaign along these lines. It will allow us to actually keep ahead and succeed with
31:12industrialization and full employment, arrive at a balance, health and employment should also be
31:22corrected, and a zero carbon economy. This is an ambitious task and path, but I think it is
31:31realistic and I think that that is what the majority forces should work for. Now, what is
31:38the method we can apply on this? The Prime Minister and all those who represent the majority
31:46and all those who are committed to working with him will have to build a program, bring it forward
31:54and implement it. But I also wish that we can do this with a constructive, open-minded approach
32:06before and after the elections. By this I mean that we are ready to take in her proposals from
32:12the social democrats, people from the ecology parties, republicans who could actually contribute
32:21and add to this vision. There is a clear vision, there is an ideal which is shared
32:28around these five axes that I developed earlier on. And bringing in hundreds of different projects
32:35is not something meaning that you have to just come in and apply them later on. What it means
32:41is that you've got to have a sincere and humble desire to reach consensus, to reach unity in our
32:48country along these five axes and also work on them to enable them. All those who are defending
32:56the values of the republic in an ambiguous manner, who also wish to have a true republic debate and
33:05who wish to have a stronger France are welcome to join. And I would just like to say that before
33:09and after the elections, we really should have discussions about these different points that I
33:15developed and I also feel that this should allow us to come up with useful solutions. We've already
33:22started to do this in the last few years with different national councils. We should be able
33:28to do this with the trade unions, with the local representatives and with different government
33:34authorities so that we can find the solutions to implement these ideas. Therefore I think the
33:40choices on the 30th of June and the 7th of July are simple. Who can govern France? Who will be
33:46in the right position to look after the futures of our children and also manage the lives of
33:53our citizens? And I think you've all understood quite clearly that political forces that represent
33:58the majority today, the presidential majority today, are the only ones that can actually
34:05bear a realistic and consistent project with this vision for the future. And it is important
34:13that these forces can actually implement it and act during the campaign and also after the campaign,
34:20after the elections, by grouping together projects, by building jointly and uniting, working
34:28jointly to achieve these goals. All those who cannot work with the extremes on either side
34:36are welcome to come in and work on this constructive project. They are the ones that I am
34:42reaching out for and I am appealing with a great deal of humility and determination. And the Prime
34:47Minister and all the representatives of the present majority will have to work on that in the next 18
34:54days and also between the two rounds. And I wish that from that the true parliamentary
35:04image of France and portrait of France will be born. This is what I wanted to share with you
35:09today. These are simple convictions of the ideals and the method that I wish to implement
35:17to achieve these ideas. I'm ready to answer all your questions now.