French President Emmanuel Macron said the much-controversial reform of the retirement age, which has been raised from 62 to 64, should come into effect “by the end of the year”.
“This reform is necessary, I don’t like it and I would have liked not to have done it, but that is also why I committed to do it,” said the head of state, stressing the importance of entry into force by the end of the year “to make things fall into place.”
“There are not 36 solutions,” Macron insisted during a 35-minute interview with television channels TF1 and France2.com.
Macron expressed confidence in the entry into force of the new reform, despite street protests against that project.
“It would be good for 1.8 million people to see their pensions rise by about EUR 600 a year,” argued Macron, saying he was “willing to accept the unpopularity” of passing the reform, which he reaffirmed his confidence in the prime minister. to behave.
“I’m not seeking re-election […]”But between short-term elections and the general interest of the country, I choose the general interest of the country,” said the French head of state.
“[Elisabeth Borne] has my confidence to lead this government team,” he insisted, sticking to what he had said on Tuesday that he has no ministerial reshuffle in the executive in mind.
The French president assured that the reform now depends on the opinion of the Constitutional Council, but not on street demonstrations.
“[As manifestações] should be respected if they are peaceful, but not if they resort to extreme violence,” he argued.
In the conversation Macron denounced the “cynicism of some of the big companies” who generated unexpected excessive profits, allowing them to buy back their own shares on the market, asking them for that reason “an exceptional contribution” so that “workers can benefit” from this surplus .
“There is still a bit of cynicism at work. There are big companies that make such exceptional revenues that they end up using that money to buy back their own shares,” said the French president, who also asked the government for a find a way to “work an exceptional contribution” to the population.
In addition to dividends, more and more companies are opting to buy back their own shares, an operation to maintain the stock price.
French companies on the French stock exchange, CAC 40, generated more than 142,000 million euros in accumulated profits in 2022 thanks to record energy prices and everything related to it, taking advantage of inflation and the energy crisis, predicts a good year for shareholders.
However, Macron rejected the solution of taxing ‘super profits’, as France has done with energy companies.”
“You have to find the right technique,” he explained, so that companies that are “buying their shares […] distribute more to their employees”.
In 2022, companies listed on the ‘CAC 40’ bought back 23,700 million euros worth of shares, according to the financial ‘newsletter’ Vernimmen.
This is according to figures from the press agency France-Presse (AFP). TotalEnergies plans to pay out $2,000 million (1,850 million euros) in the first quarter of 2023 to buy back its own shares, the same amount as the group paid in taxes with the “super profits” in the European Union (EU) and in The United Kingdom.
The automotive sector group Stellantis wants to spend 1,500 million euros on the buyback of its own shares and pay out 4,200 million euros in dividends, to be compensated with 2,000 million euros in bonuses for the respective employees.
But French banks have also been particularly generous to their shareholders.
BNP Paribas plans to spend €5 billion on a share buyback program, equivalent to half of its record profit of more than €10 billion in 2022.
Société Générale has decided to distribute the equivalent of 90% of net profit to shareholders through a cash dividend and a share buyback program.
Luxury giant LVMH will distribute €400 million to its approximately 39,000 French employees, spend up to €1,500 million on share buybacks and pay approximately €6,000 million in dividends to shareholders, including nearly €3,000 million to the family by CEO Bernard Arnault.
In the United States, the 2024 budget proposed by US President Joe Biden envisages “a quadrupling of the tax applied to stock repurchases.”
The words of Macron have been eagerly awaited, who has kept a low profile since January to address the issue of raising the retirement age in what marks the beginning of his second five-year presidential term, which has spiraled into political crisis . happened on the eve of another day of trade union mobilization, while unauthorized and tense demonstrations take place every day in the country.
In addition, strikes and blockades continue throughout the country, especially at oil depots.
Source: DN
