Two of François Hollande’s top ministers sent differing signals on how quickly to revamp the unemployment-benefits system, keeping alive a debate the French president sought to suppress, reports Bloomberg News.
For finance minister Michel Sapin, the matter can wait until the scheduled talks between labor unions and business in mid-2016. Economy minister Emmanuel Macron indicated more urgency, saying the government can move faster.
The issue was raised last week by prime minister Manuel Valls, who said the wasteful system needs to be fixed in the “short term.” Hours later, Hollande shot down the suggestion, saying the government “has enough on its plate.” Sapin is siding with the president.
“The year 2015 should be used to think about an improvement of the unemployment insurance mechanism that would increase the incentive to resume work,” Sapin said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Washington.
Asked about the same issue in an interview yesterday in the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Macron was more strident.
“There shouldn’t be any taboo or posturing,” he said. “The unemployment insurance system has a 4 billion-euro ($5.1 billion) deficit. What politician can be satisfied with that? There was reform but not enough. We cannot leave it at that.”
Macron also said “we have six months to create a new reality in France and Europe.”
Read more of this report from Bloomberg News.