Bayrou had the nerve to say “Everyone has to make an effort” when he presented his plan to make savings worth 43.8 billion euros! But not everyone will be making an effort: the working class will pay and, on top of that, capitalists will continue to get richer as the government tries to impose more sacrifices on us.
With the doubling of the deductible for medication and the latest measures against those with a long-term medical condition, the poorest section of the population will no longer be able to afford treatment. The rich will always be able to pay the deductible and afford private clinics.
Non replacement of public sector workers who retire will lead to the loss of 3,000 jobs. That will lead to fewer teachers in classrooms, fewer healthcare workers, fewer canteen workers. And the working class will pay the price in the same way it has for local-authority budget cuts. When municipalities have fewer resources and associations less money, the rich aren’t the ones to suffer.
Freezing retirement pensions will force pensioners to tighten their belts. The poorest workers will see their monthly social benefits reduced by several dozen euros, which will make their lives much more difficult. But the 211 billion euros handed out to big business won’t be touched at all.
As for the proposal to take away two public holidays, it’s disgusting. “People have to work more”, Bayrou added. He should say that to the people he serves – Bernard Arnault, Dassault, Peugeot, etc. – who don’t work and yet see their fortune grow every day! But when you’re a home help, a production-line worker, a garbage collector, an undocumented construction worker, a supermarket cashier, a health-care worker in a state-run nursing home, the work is exhausting. We already work too much and we are the ones who make society function.
Capitalists get richer by grabbing the riches we create with our work. Thanks to job cuts and factory closures, money is flowing into their coffers despite the crisis: 133 billion euros in dividends for shareholders in 2024. And the cumulated wealth of the 500 richest capitalists in France comes to 1,128 billion euros, almost double what it was in 2017. Who else has seen their income doubled in less than ten years?
The government claims that it wants to reduce the public debt but it never suggests taking money from the vaults of the rich or putting a stop to the gigantic handouts to companies. In this system, there is never enough for the rich and always too much for the poor.
The government also wants us to tighten our belts and work harder to finance the purchase of weapons, thereby increasing the profits of arms sellers. This year alone, Dassault has seen its fortune grow by 24% thanks to Rafale fighter jet sales.
To justify the massive increase in the military budget, Macron says that we must defend ourselves in an ever more violent world. But who is creating tension around the world if not our own capitalists, our own leaders? The wars in the Middle East, Ukraine and Africa have already brought business to French capitalists. Macron isn’t motivated by the barbarity that the whole world is plunging into. He’s motivated by ensuring that the capitalists he serves will have their slice of pie from every current or future conflict.
Our greatest enemies are those who govern us, who attack our living conditions, our vacations, our wages and now want to make us work harder. We shouldn’t trust them when they talk about savings or defense. They only serve French capitalists and think of us as bodies to exploit while waiting to turn us and the young into cannon fodder. They’ll never defend us, whether it’s in times of peace or in times of war.
In this society, without us and our work, capitalists and their lackeys can do nothing, not even make the most of their money. We must use our collective force to make the government back down from its attacks. It is vital that we don’t let them get away with it. Defending our living and working conditions also means defending ourselves against those who are preparing for the wars to come.