Emmanuel Macron orders business leaders to “wake up”

Campaigning for his re-election in 2022, Emmanuel Macron promised full employment in 2027. Two years later, in the absence of conclusive progress, the President presented this Tuesday a new program to support certain small and medium-sized businesses. The Head of State took the opportunity to speak in a firm tone in front of the hundred business leaders invited to the Élysée.

” Wake up ! I tell you in all sincerity, wake up! We are at 7% unemployment rate, we are not there”insisted Emmanuel Macron, cited by The Parisian. The unemployment rate recorded a slight increase in the third quarter, reaching 7.4% of the active population in France (excluding Mayotte), compared to 7.2% in the second quarter. This trend marks, at best a pause in the decline, at worst a reversal of the curve in the wrong direction.

“We see that we are on a plateau”

“We see that we are on a plateau. It’s not yet won, we’re not at full employment.” he added. Once elected in 2017, Emmanuel Macron set an unemployment rate of 7%. Its objective had almost been achieved that year with 7.4% unemployment, according to INSEE. In front of business leaders, the President welcomed this drop which occurred, even though “many of our neighbors who were in a much better situation were stagnating, or even had a situation that was deteriorating”.

The President thus praised his reforms. According to him, this is “which allowed us to go from just over 9% unemployment in 2017 to 7% this year”. The head of state also promised to “redouble efforts on major reforms” and of “redouble our courage and energy in matters of work and employment”, “because it takes courage to make reforms”.