Macron back in Paris: the three back-to-school projects – The HuffPost

STEPHANIE LECOCQ via AFP

POLITICS – It’s a busy comeback that awaits the president. After studious holidays at the fort of Brégançon during which he invested social networks to educate young people about vaccination or to manage the afghan crisis, Emmanuel Macron is back in Paris for the last start of his five-year term.

On Wednesday August 25, he will chair a Defense Council and the first Council of Ministers for the start of the school year. The week will be busy internationally. On Tuesday, August 24, he will participate in a G7 videoconference on the situation in Afghanistan and will fly to Iraq next weekend. On Thursday 26th, he will be in Dublin, Ireland, one of the last countries of the European Union he has not visited, and will meet his counterpart, President Michael Higgins. It will discuss the health crisis, the implementation of the European recovery plan, corporate taxation and the situation in Afghanistan.

Ireland, Iraq and G7 to evoke Afghanistan

The Afghan crisis should continue to occupy him for many months as he emphasized in his speech of August 16 on his desire to “protect us against irregular migratory flows towards Europe”, which was worth many criticisms from the left. The aim of the international meetings is in particular to “distribute an organized and fair effort” in which “France will play its full part”.

The health crisis “is not behind us”, he warned in the preamble of the health defense council of August 11, while hospitals in the West Indies are facing overflows and several regions in the south of France have triggered the white plans in their hospitals. With the goal of 50 million first-time vaccines at the end of August, he will have to continue to manage France in times of Covid and agree on what will become of the health pass while the demonstrations against don’t seem to stop.

The health crisis and the future of the past

The law passed in July extended the state of health emergency and confirmed the implementation of the health pass until November 15. Will these two measures be renewed and in what form? With what majority in Parliament? So many questions that will be asked in the coming weeks.

The pension reform, campaign promise and marker for the right-wing electorate no longer seems to be on the agenda. “I will not launch this reform as long as the epidemic is not under control and the recovery assured”, warned the Head of State in his speech of July 12. On the domestic front, he will endeavor to implement the economic and social recovery led by Bruno Le Maire.

Recovery plan and candidacy

Finally, the president will have to reflect in the coming months on his candidacy for the 2022 election and his choice of campaign. The announcement on Sunday 22 August of the pantheonization of Josephine Baker November 30 is a clear signal in view of the balance sheet he intends to leave, after that of Simone veil in 2018. Will he take advantage of this streak to announce his candidacy or will he prefer to bet on a blitz campaign, as most outgoing presidents do? François Mitterrand and Nicolas Sarkozy had declared themselves only in March 1988 for the first and in February 2012 for the second. Will he also be a candidate for re-election? So many questions that he will have to answer in addition to the many files that await him on his desk at the Élysée Palace.

See also on The HuffPost: Afghanistan: Macron announces an “initiative against irregular migratory flows”