Macron vows to build back factories
Dunkirk, The Gulf Observer: Building factories to boost job creation and make France more independent — that’s President Emmanuel Macron’s ambition for the French economy.
It’s a big challenge, as France reels from protracted protests, rising food and energy prices and other fallout from the Ukraine war.
While Macron woos investors to help “re-industrialize” and reduce Europe’s dependence on China and the U.S., protesters follow him around the country, banging saucepans to protest economic injustice and his leadership.
More than 200 international business leaders are expected Monday at the ‘Choose France’ event staged at the palace of Versailles to promote foreign investment.
It follows a series of incentives announced by Macron last week to support innovative industries and transition towards greener technology. They include tax credits in fields like battery production, electric cars, hydrogen and wind power, as well as accelerating authorization for industrial projects.
“France is changing, is getting adapted to the course of the world and I believe that we’re following the right path, which is to reindustrialize the country, to be more sovereign and more respectful of the climate and biodiversity,” Macron said Friday during a visit to Dunkirk, in northern France.
Macron’s move comes after months of protests against his decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. The unpopularity of the reform has weakened his government at parliament and hampered his economic strategy.
Unions have called for a new round of nationwide demonstrations on June 6. Meanwhile, opponents keep staging small protests, with people loudly banging pots and pans in places where Macron and government members are scheduled to travel.
Credit rating agency Fitch last month downgraded France’s sovereign credit rating, citing the protest movement. “Political deadlock and (sometimes violent) social movements pose a risk to Macron’s reform agenda,” the agency wrote.
In Dunkirk Friday, Macron made time for many selfies with workers from several local factories who attended his speech at Aluminium Dunkerque, one of the biggest aluminum production sites in Europe. None of them asked him about the retirement age and, in contrast with his previous visits across French regions, he didn’t walk through the city streets to meet with the crowd.
A heavy police presence was deployed in Dunkirk to keep potential protesters away.
Macron announced two major investments, both in the battery sector: one worth 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion) by Taiwanese group Prologium, the other one via a joint venture of China’s XTC with French energy giant Orano worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion). They are expected to create 3,000 and 1,700 jobs in the area respectively by 2030.
He seized the occasion to present the pension reform as part of a “package” that has already produced “results.” “If we want to be more competitive, we must work a little longer,” he said.
Since he took office in 2017, Macron has cut business taxes. He has made it easier to hire and fire workers and more difficult for the unemployed to claim benefits, amid other pro-business policies.
