Emmanuel Macron has opted to organize a type of forum dear to his predecessor, but for which he has had little taste, until now. During the long discussions with political party leaders and the presidents of the chambers of Parliament on Wednesday, August 30, the president committed to holding a “social conference.” The notion is reminiscent of several conclaves held during François Hollande’s presidency (2012-2017). The goal is to provide new solutions for workers whose cost of living has increased because of soaring prices.
As the only tangible outcome of the meeting orchestrated in the former royal abbey in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, the announcement caused some astonishment, even if it did satisfy a request from the left-wing opposition. At this stage, there are still many unknowns concerning the timetable, the list of participants and the exact agenda.
It was more than an hour after midnight when Macron ruled in favor of a “social conference on careers and sectors below the minimum wage.” According to his staff, it was a proposal from the left-wing parties in the New Popular Environmental and Social Union (NUPES), which Macron “endorsed” and to which the right did not object. President of the Sénat Gérard Larcher (Les Républicains, right-wing) had always been in favor of the idea, said one of his advisers, and had even suggested holding such a conference during the negotiations on the pension system reform earlier this year. “Provided we know what we’re talking about and where we’re going,” stressed the same adviser.
‘Good news’
For the moment, very little information has been released. Macron’s staff explained that a scheduled government seminar on September 6 should serve to work out the details. “It’s a good idea, a good thing that there are concrete projects like this,” said Transport Minister Clément Beaune on the radio Europe 1 on Thursday, without elaborating. Beaune added that the issue was one of the “concerns (…) expressed” during the parliamentary debates on the bill to raise the retirement age to 64.
The idea of a social conference does not seem to have struck a chord on the left. Left-wing leaders were more vocal about Macron rejecting their recommendation that wages should rise in line with prices, and that low-paid workers should receive raises. Fabien Roussel, the leader of the Communists, said he had interrupted Macron, as the president was concluding one round of talks, by interjecting: “There’s a problem with wages, but you don’t want to index them to inflation!”