French President Emmanuel Macron announced his intention to hold one or several referendums in the coming months, although he did not specify the topics.
He was speaking as part of a three-hour televised interview last night (May 13) where he was questioned by a series of people from different spheres including social media personalities, journalists, trade union leaders, and mayors.
The president discussed several issues, both domestic and political, as well as commenting on his personal future. We cover the key points below.
Referendums are likely this year but not on immigration
“Nothing is off the table,” when it comes to referendums, Mr Macron said. “I would like us to be able to organise a consultation, several referendums in the coming months.”
France has not held a referendum since 2005 – a single question on signing the European Constitution – making several referendums in one year a significant change.
The topic – or topics – remain unclear, but the president said they would cover “major economic, social and educational reforms.”
He ruled out a referendum on immigration, but said he wanted to see the topic discussed annually in parliament.
The president hinted that referendums could be used to bypass the fractious Assemblée nationale in cases where the presidential group lacks enough MPs to pass a bill.
“Whenever we are too slow or blocked [by MPs], we can go to a referendum, and I will take my responsibilities [to help pass legislation],” he said.
This perhaps hints at a referendum on the 2026 budget, with the prime minister hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2025 version of the text, which was voted down in parliament and led to the ousting of prime minister Michel Barnier in December 2024.
President backs end of life bill
The president welcomed the end of life bill currently making its way through the Assemblée nationale.
“I hope that the text that is committed today will be voted on… it is a balanced bill,” he said.
“I want us to be able to help people to die with dignity. This is a law of humanity and fraternity.”
Mr Macron hinted this could be a potential topic of a referendum if the bill gets ‘bogged down’ in parliament.
€80 billions in savings to keep current social spending levels
The upcoming budget will need to cut spending to ensure French fiscal stability.
The president pointed towards good financial figures during the start of his first term, but stated that the Covid crisis had caused a severe economic downturn.
If France wants to maintain the current level of social spending, it would equate to €80 billion in savings elsewhere from the 2026 budget.
“You'll have to explain to me how you come up with those savings,” he said.
Prime minister François Bayrou is in favour of €40 billion in savings, but this may also come at the cost of social spending being slashed alongside cuts elsewhere.
More power to police, construction of prison places
Mr Macron wants the government to pass legislation that would give municipal police officers more power.
The legislation would see mayors able to authorise local police forces some of the same powers as their national counterparts, including the ability to issue fixed penalty fines and arrest those caught red-handed committing a crime.
When asked about the 15,000 new prison cells promised by him during his 2017 presidential campaign, Mr Macron pointed towards the 5,000 currently being built.
He said there were plans to simplify legislation and remove red tape surrounding construction of the cells to speed up the process.
However, he said he is in favour of ‘renting’ prison space abroad for convicts from France “if the state needs to.”
He is also in favour of plans by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin to require prisoners to financially contribute to their own upkeep.
‘Negotiations’ on the war in Ukraine
“We must help Ukraine to defend itself, but we don't want to trigger ‘World War Three’,” said Mr Macron.
“Our desire is to impose sanctions again, and to do so in the next few days in close liaison with the United States.”
However, these sanctions will not include a freeze on Russian assets in France, as “there is no legal framework” for this.
The president, with European allies, is calling on a 30-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine and bystanders to take stock of humanitarian issues as well as deal with ‘territorial issues’.
One possible peace deal could see European troops – including French ones – stationed in Ukraine, with a further attack on the country being seen as an attack on the bloc itself.
Mr Macron said he is ready to personally negotiate with Vladimir Putin if need be.
French nuclear weapons being positioned in the EU
The president is in favour of the French nuclear arsenal being more widely deployed across the EU.
France is the only EU nation that has nuclear weapons, but the president said the country is ‘ready’ for a discussion with other member states on bombs being deployed elsewhere.
However “the final decision [to use the weapons] would always rest with the President of the Republic.”
Gaza: Benjamin Netenyahu’s actions are ‘a disgrace’
The president called the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza ‘unacceptable’ but did not go so far as to call it a genocide.
“It's not for a politician to use these terms, it's for historians to do so. Today, it's a humanitarian tragedy and it's unacceptable,” he said.
The actions of Israeli president Benjamin Netenyahu are “a disgrace,” and Mr Macron is ‘open’ to a renegotiation of cooperation agreements between the EU and Israel.
The president concluded that the power to end the conflict now rested with US president Donald Trump.
Pension reforms are final
The questions Mr Macron faced from head of the CGT trade union Sophie Binet focused on the rights and situation of workers in France.
The president categorically ruled out any backtracking on the controversial pension reforms of 2023, which raised the age of retirement for millions of workers in France.
“We did it to save our current pay-as-you-go pension system, to which I am very attached. It will free up around €17 billion between now and 2028, and a third will be reinvested in social spending,” he told Ms Binet.
“A conclave has been launched by the prime minister on the matter, and we need to see this discussion through to the end,” the president added, citing that the CGT had walked out of these negotiations (other social partners are still in talks over the situation).
The government will set up a ‘social conference’ on the future of France’s social system in the coming weeks, including how the system is funded and reflecting on the nature of work, but Mr Macron did not say this would be one of the potential subjects of a referendum.
No nationalisation of struggling steel company
The president made it clear that the French wing of the multinational ArcelorMittal steel company would not be nationalised despite the company threatening to cut more than 600 jobs.
“That would mean spending billions of euros. (...) It makes no sense,” he said. “People who say nationalisation is the solution are lying.
“The policy I have been pursuing since 2017 has made it possible to halt the decline in industrial jobs. We have started to recreate industrial jobs,” he added.
“We are going to save Dunkirk and Fos-sur-Mer [key industrial sites related to the steelworks], but with a European policy that protects our steel,” the president added, without announcing the policy that will be used.
The president also made the following comments:
He is in favour of teenagers needing to verify their age to use social media platforms. The Minister for Digital Affairs Clara Chappaz wants to ban social media usage for teens under 15
Personally in favour of banning all religious symbols – including headscarves for women – during sporting competitions, the president said it is up to sports federations to decide on rules
He conceded not enough measures have been taken to ease ‘the anxieties’ of young people in France and that more psychiatrists should be hired
The president wants faster trials and ‘more certain’ sentences for drug traffickers, as well as a focus on reducing drug use. “If there are no consumers, there are no traffickers,” he said
The president kept coy about a potential run for the presidency in 2032. The constitution prevents the president running for a third consecutive term in 2027, but he did not rule out running in the following election
