Food, salaries, taxes... How Emmanuel Macron wants to “help the middle and working classes”

“Purchasing power is the meeting of the cost of living and the remuneration of work”, explained Emmanuel Macron this Tuesday during a press conference to discuss the measures for “the middle classes and popular”. The President of the Republic believes that “France has protected a lot against inflation” with prices which are now returning “to normal”.

At a time of negotiations between manufacturers and mass retailers, Emmanuel Macron wants to “regain control over our prices”. A message which is addressed directly to both parties, while the discussions promise to be extremely tense until January 31, the deadline for negotiations. “Food prices will return to much more reasonable areas,” assures Emmanuel Macron, who promises “fair prices for farmers”.

On the energy side, the president affirms that the country “has regained control”, allowing it to pay for it “at our production costs”, and therefore to maintain prices for consumers. “It’s an energy whose costs are better controlled,” repeats Emmanuel Macron. The Head of State affirmed that the price of electricity would “return to normal”, while specifying that it would remain “substantially lower” than what is paid by the consumer in our European neighbors. “The price (of electricity) will return to normal and above all it will remain, whatever the government announces in the coming days, substantially lower than what is paid in Germany, Spain, Italy,” he said. declared Emmanuel Macron. “Where it should have increased by more than 100% last year, it had to increase by 25% (...) And we will continue to have an electricity price significantly lower than our neighbors,” said he added, while refusing to take the place of the government “to make the precise announcements” expected soon.

Concerning salaries, “the government will do everything to ensure that work pays better,” he promised. The President of the Republic recalled all the measures put in place in recent months such as the “100 euro activity bonus”, “the reduction in income tax”, “the abolition of the employment tax”. housing” or even “added value sharing bonuses”. He also confirmed the reduction of two billion in taxes for middle-class French people “in 2025”. The executive will also reveal its “work with the branches which pay below the minimum wage” and “will return to the details of the measure”.