Work, energy, health and paperwork: France's new Prime Minister's plans
While the anger of French farmers was paramount in Gabriel Attal’s first speech to MPs as Prime Minister, he also outlined plans to tackle the housing shortage, doctor shortages and excess bureaucracy.
Less than a month into the job he's already facing his first crisis as farmers' protests spiral across France. But on Tuesday Prime Minister Gabriel Attal went to the French parliament to give his Discours de politique générale - the traditional speech from a new prime minister where they lay out their policy priorities.
After visiting a cattle farm on Sunday, it was no surprise that agricultural anger was uppermost in mind, and the speech contained several measures aimed at placating farmers and ending the protests.
There were, however, some other topics - here are the key measures that he announced;
Healthcare
France will look abroad for doctors to fill the shortfall in France, Attal said, announcing the appointment of an “emissary tasked with finding doctors abroad and finding ways of bringing back our young French medical workers who have gone abroad”. The government had already announced the creation of a special residency card for non-EU healthcare workers to allow them to work in France.
Faced with a shortage of doctors, Attal has announced an increase in the number of medical assistants. The Prime Minister also wants to allow nurses “with experience” and “know-how” to go “directly into third-year medicine”.
In the meantime, Attal said that he was in favour of patients paying for missed appointments, and said that he plans to restore “on-call obligations” for certain sectors of doctors.
Attal added that he wants to make mental health the “great cause of our government”. His plan involves reform of the MonSoutienPsy platform, the creation of a centre for adolescents in every département, and a bonus and pay rise for school nurses from May.
Education
Attal, who was Education Minister from July 2023 to his elevation to the top job in January, described schooling as “the mother of all battles”.
He was, is, and will be, “always alongside teachers”, he said – going on to say that they would have, “the last word” on whether students should resit exams, or retake a year. He added that he wanted to bring schools, “closer to business, professions and associations”.
READ ALSO French teachers to walk out in nationwide strike on Thursday
“A school that works is a school where the students are happy,” he said, confirming his commitment to a strategy to combat school bullying.
Reform of initial teacher training will be presented by the end of March, and the State will now cover the salary of assistants for children with disabilities during lunch breaks.
Plus, the government will act to “better regulate the use of screens” in and out of school, he said.
The Prime Minister announced the creation of “educational community service for young offenders under the age of 16”.
“As soon as a pupil is on a downward spiral towards delinquency, we will offer the parents a boarding school, which we will make available to them, in order to cut them off from their bad company,” Attal said.
He also mentioned that parents of “delinquent children” could face community service-style punishments for “failing to fulfil their legal obligations”.
Economy
Attal introduced a new verb – désmicardiser – as he argued that, “millions of French people are unable to get by on the minimum wage (known as Smic)”.
“Work must always pay better than inactivity”, he said, as he called for efforts to “enhance the value of work for employees, but also for civil servants, with a bill to be tabled in the second half of this year, and for the self-employed”.
He went on to say that the government would roll out a scheme in which recipients of RSA benefit will be obliged to work for 15 hours “in all départements by 2025”.
The reform of unemployment benefit will also continue in order to provide “better support” but also with a “duty to look for a job”.
“We will be able to implement solidarity at source, to avoid unnecessary procedures and guarantee full social justice: that everyone receives everything to which they are entitled,” he said.
Acknowledging that the “relationship with work” in France has changed, Attal said that he has asked ministries in France to experiment with a four-day week.
Taxes
Attal announced a tax cut of €2 billion for the middle classes - although this had already been spoken about by his boss during Emmanuel Macron's marathon press conference earlier in January.
Environment
Attal said that he wanted to build a “popular ecology” that was synonymous with “the French way”.
“We need to listen to the concerns of the French, farmers, small towns and those for whom the car is synonymous with freedom,” he said before outlining efforts to promote electric vehicles, rolling out RER public transport networks across France, and pushing the development of businesses supporting energy renovation.
And he wants to build on commitments from 50 major industrial sites that emit the most greenhouse gases in France, all of which have pledged to halve emissions by 2030 by launching “a similar initiative, against plastic pollution, for the 50 sites that put the most plastic packaging on the market”.
France’s nuclear power industry – “a source of pride for France” – would continue to be enhanced and developed, he said, announcing that the modern Flamenville EPR will be operational in 2024.
He also announced the creation of a volunteer “ecological civic service” for “50,000 young people, aged 16 to 25, a year ready to make a commitment to the climate”.
Housing
“We are going to simplify standards on a massive scale: review DPEs, simplify access to MaPrimeRénov', lift constraints on zoning, speed up procedures,” Attal declared.
And he won’t waste any time. “In a fortnight we will designate 20 areas committed to housing, where we will speed up all procedures, as we did for the organisation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the aim of creating 30,000 new homes within three years.”
To encourage mayors to develop social housing, “we are going to give (them) the first allocation of new social housing built in their municipality,” he continued.
The government also intends to “change” the world of social housing by adding a requirement for “intermediate housing” for those property hunters who would otherwise be caught between social and high-end properties.
He also announced his intention to "requisition empty buildings, particularly office buildings".
Bureaucracy
As anyone who has set up their own business in France knows too well, bureaucracy is a major part of life in France. Attal said that he wants to “simplify procedures”, to “lighten the burden of rules and standards” on small and medium-sized businesses.
“Bureaucracy that retreats is freedom that advances,” he added. For example, he announced that it would soon be possible to, “lodge a complaint online anywhere in the country”.
Attal said he also wants “drastic simplification … to bring industry back to our country”. He said: “In France, it takes 17 months to set up an industrial project, whereas in Germany it takes half as long.”
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Less than a month into the job he's already facing his first crisis as farmers' protests spiral across France. But on Tuesday Prime Minister Gabriel Attal went to the French parliament to give his Discours de politique générale - the traditional speech from a new prime minister where they lay out their policy priorities.
After visiting a cattle farm on Sunday, it was no surprise that agricultural anger was uppermost in mind, and the speech contained several measures aimed at placating farmers and ending the protests.
There were, however, some other topics - here are the key measures that he announced;
Healthcare
France will look abroad for doctors to fill the shortfall in France, Attal said, announcing the appointment of an “emissary tasked with finding doctors abroad and finding ways of bringing back our young French medical workers who have gone abroad”. The government had already announced the creation of a special residency card for non-EU healthcare workers to allow them to work in France.
Faced with a shortage of doctors, Attal has announced an increase in the number of medical assistants. The Prime Minister also wants to allow nurses “with experience” and “know-how” to go “directly into third-year medicine”.
In the meantime, Attal said that he was in favour of patients paying for missed appointments, and said that he plans to restore “on-call obligations” for certain sectors of doctors.
Attal added that he wants to make mental health the “great cause of our government”. His plan involves reform of the MonSoutienPsy platform, the creation of a centre for adolescents in every département, and a bonus and pay rise for school nurses from May.
Education
Attal, who was Education Minister from July 2023 to his elevation to the top job in January, described schooling as “the mother of all battles”.
He was, is, and will be, “always alongside teachers”, he said – going on to say that they would have, “the last word” on whether students should resit exams, or retake a year. He added that he wanted to bring schools, “closer to business, professions and associations”.
READ ALSO French teachers to walk out in nationwide strike on Thursday
“A school that works is a school where the students are happy,” he said, confirming his commitment to a strategy to combat school bullying.
Reform of initial teacher training will be presented by the end of March, and the State will now cover the salary of assistants for children with disabilities during lunch breaks.
Plus, the government will act to “better regulate the use of screens” in and out of school, he said.
The Prime Minister announced the creation of “educational community service for young offenders under the age of 16”.
“As soon as a pupil is on a downward spiral towards delinquency, we will offer the parents a boarding school, which we will make available to them, in order to cut them off from their bad company,” Attal said.
He also mentioned that parents of “delinquent children” could face community service-style punishments for “failing to fulfil their legal obligations”.
Economy
Attal introduced a new verb – désmicardiser – as he argued that, “millions of French people are unable to get by on the minimum wage (known as Smic)”.
“Work must always pay better than inactivity”, he said, as he called for efforts to “enhance the value of work for employees, but also for civil servants, with a bill to be tabled in the second half of this year, and for the self-employed”.
He went on to say that the government would roll out a scheme in which recipients of RSA benefit will be obliged to work for 15 hours “in all départements by 2025”.
The reform of unemployment benefit will also continue in order to provide “better support” but also with a “duty to look for a job”.
“We will be able to implement solidarity at source, to avoid unnecessary procedures and guarantee full social justice: that everyone receives everything to which they are entitled,” he said.
Acknowledging that the “relationship with work” in France has changed, Attal said that he has asked ministries in France to experiment with a four-day week.
Taxes
Attal announced a tax cut of €2 billion for the middle classes - although this had already been spoken about by his boss during Emmanuel Macron's marathon press conference earlier in January.
Environment
Attal said that he wanted to build a “popular ecology” that was synonymous with “the French way”.
“We need to listen to the concerns of the French, farmers, small towns and those for whom the car is synonymous with freedom,” he said before outlining efforts to promote electric vehicles, rolling out RER public transport networks across France, and pushing the development of businesses supporting energy renovation.
And he wants to build on commitments from 50 major industrial sites that emit the most greenhouse gases in France, all of which have pledged to halve emissions by 2030 by launching “a similar initiative, against plastic pollution, for the 50 sites that put the most plastic packaging on the market”.
France’s nuclear power industry – “a source of pride for France” – would continue to be enhanced and developed, he said, announcing that the modern Flamenville EPR will be operational in 2024.
He also announced the creation of a volunteer “ecological civic service” for “50,000 young people, aged 16 to 25, a year ready to make a commitment to the climate”.
Housing
“We are going to simplify standards on a massive scale: review DPEs, simplify access to MaPrimeRénov', lift constraints on zoning, speed up procedures,” Attal declared.
And he won’t waste any time. “In a fortnight we will designate 20 areas committed to housing, where we will speed up all procedures, as we did for the organisation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the aim of creating 30,000 new homes within three years.”
To encourage mayors to develop social housing, “we are going to give (them) the first allocation of new social housing built in their municipality,” he continued.
The government also intends to “change” the world of social housing by adding a requirement for “intermediate housing” for those property hunters who would otherwise be caught between social and high-end properties.
He also announced his intention to "requisition empty buildings, particularly office buildings".
Bureaucracy
As anyone who has set up their own business in France knows too well, bureaucracy is a major part of life in France. Attal said that he wants to “simplify procedures”, to “lighten the burden of rules and standards” on small and medium-sized businesses.
“Bureaucracy that retreats is freedom that advances,” he added. For example, he announced that it would soon be possible to, “lodge a complaint online anywhere in the country”.
Attal said he also wants “drastic simplification … to bring industry back to our country”. He said: “In France, it takes 17 months to set up an industrial project, whereas in Germany it takes half as long.”
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