The transfer of Emmanuel Macron, an “optimist of will” who has become worried about the “great upheaval of the world”

In the radius of presidential changes, this seems fundamental. A few months ago, Emmanuel Macron defined himself as a “optimist of will”able to talk on television about the ” next day “ the Covid-19 epidemic, when the sick were just beginning to flock to hospitals. Each crisis drew, in his eyes, the possibility of a rebound. A frame of mind that time and the international context, marked by the war in Ukraine, seem to have skated.

The president of the Republic opened the Council of Ministers, Wednesday August 24, with a particularly dark introductory remarks. In a twelve-minute presentation – broadcast, a rare occurrence, live on the news channels continuously – the Elysée tenant dissected the “great upheaval of the world” through three “ends” : “end of abundance, end of recklessness, end of evidence”. Without the prospect of a patch of blue sky appearing.

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The “end of abundance”it is that of access to raw materials and products “which seemed to us to be perpetually available”, recognized Emmanuel Macron. The health crisis and then the Ukrainian conflict have reduced the airfoil of international trade and the hope of a happy globalization.

It is also access to water, rarefied due to global warming, but also access to “free cash”, added the head of state. Negative interest rates are now a thing of the past. “We will have to draw the consequences in terms of public finances”, warned Mr. Macron. Requiem for “whatever the cost”.

“Our freedom has a cost”

If the tariff shield on energy costs has been made permanent until the end of 2022, “we will not be able to freeze prices indefinitely”, said government spokesman Olivier Véran. Especially as Russia threatens to cut gas supplies to punish the West for supporting Ukraine. A decision that would result in a surge in market prices.

“Our freedom (…) has a cost”estimated Emmanuel Macron, which “may require sacrifices” and ” efforts “. However, he refrained from specifying which ones. “There are no restrictions imposed by the state”tempered Mr. Véran, at the end of the Council of Ministers, denying any “willingness to force the French to reduce their consumption” of energy. For the moment.

The President of the Republic is worried about a “rise of illiberal regimes” and a “strengthening of authoritarian regimes”

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