Sociologist Dominique Méda denounces in a chronicle the four failures of Emmanuel Macron's employment policy since 2017. She analyzes Bruno Retailleau's economic program, presented on January 7, as a hardening of this approach without drawing lessons from it. Méda highlights France's employment rate lower than that of European partners.
Bruno Retailleau, president of the Republicans, unveiled his economic program on January 7 under the slogan 'Travail gagnant,' claiming to break with the policies of Emmanuel Macron's governments. According to sociologist Dominique Méda, this proposal instead represents a hardening without drawing lessons from past failures.
Méda identifies four major failures. First, the 2017 ordinances suppressed four criteria for arduousness, precisely those where French working conditions are the worst compared to European neighbors.
Second, the fight against unemployment has not caught up with the best European performers. France's unemployment rate fell from 9.5% in the third quarter of 2017 to 7.1% in the first quarter of 2023, its lowest point. However, it remains high compared to Germany (3.2%), the Netherlands (3.5%), Denmark (5.2%), or the European Union (6.1%) in 2023. Of the 2 million jobs created, nearly 40% come from the explosion in apprenticeship contracts, costing 25 billion euros per year to public finances with significant windfall effects. Another portion involves micro-entrepreneurs, with average monthly incomes of 670 euros, in unenviable living conditions.
Third, the 'work first' policy, inspired by the OECD, favors any job, even of poor quality, over none, by multiplying sanctions against the unemployed and minimum income recipients. Since 2017, unemployment insurance protection has been reduced, limiting access to benefits for short-term contracts, youth, and the low-educated.
Méda concludes that this 'retaillo-macronisme' is a 'losing work,' highlighting France's employment rate lower than that of European partners.
