Hollande planning more tax rises
The president said people should expect to make a ‘fair effort’ in his televised July 14 interview
IN HIS July 14 television interview President Hollande rejected the idea of “austerity” measures, saying he would merely be asking for “a fair effort” from people in France.
This would affect the most well-off more than the middle classes, he said.
Faced with the ongoing economic difficulties, Hollande said he was he was considering tax increases, with one possibility being raising the contribution sociale généralisée (CSG), a tax levied on certain kinds of income that goes towards funding the social security system.
This is one of the “social contributions” to which it is being proposed income from non-residents’ holiday homes should be subject for the first time in a law being debated this week. One of the others, prélèvement social, was raised 2% at the start of this month.
President Hollande added there was no reason to only look at the CSG as the solution. However he ruled out a rise in VAT, as Sarkozy had proposed. He said his predecessor’s idea would have “weakened growth still further, put people out of work, amputated purchasing power.”
Hollande was speaking from the Hotel de la Marine in the Place de la Concorde, having decided to return to the tradition of a televised address on the national holiday, which had been abolished by Nicolas Sarkozy. He told the TF1 and France 2 interviewers he had chosen the venue, a building owned by the navy, as a deliberate break with the tradition of speaking from the Elysée Palace.
It would encourage “the greatest possible freedom and independence” for the journalists, he said, adding it reflected his intention to carry out his presidential duties “simply…even if it is an exceptional post”. The interview was broadcast after the traditional July 14 military parade.
Hollande also answered questions about the 8,000 lay-offs being planned at PSA Peugeot Citröen, saying “as it is, this plan is unacceptable and it must be renegotiated”.
He said that the government was undertaking consultations and studies to help find alternatives to the restructuring plans which are proposed, and which he said had come as a “shock”. He added a strategic plan for the motor industry would be presented on July 25.
The “affair of the tweet” was also raised – the message of encouragement his partner Valérie Trierweiler sent to a rebel socialist candidate for the post of MP of La Rochelle, which led to some angry remarks from Hollande’s son Thomas. Hollande said: “Private matters should be dealt with in private, and I’ve said so to my family so that they accept this scrupulously”.
He added he “understood” Ms Trierweiler’s decision to continue to work as a journalist, saying there was no official “status of First Lady” but she would be “by my side when protocol requires it”.
Stressing once again his desire for a “normal” presidency, he said: “I don’t want to decide on everything, all on my own”.
Photo: Screen shot from France 2
