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00:00 For more, we're joined by Damien Lecomte, political scientist at Paris Panthéon University.
00:04 Thanks for being with us.
00:05 Thanks for having me.
00:06 Full disclosure, you were educated where?
00:10 Public or private school?
00:11 Mostly public schools.
00:13 Public schools.
00:14 So what are your thoughts when you heard those remarks that we saw in that report last week?
00:19 I think that this is a terrible start for an education minister because, of course,
00:24 the problem in itself is not that her children are in private schools, but the fact is that
00:31 when she was asked about this, she denigrated completely the public schools and she completely
00:39 failed to take the opportunity to say that she was going to improve public schools.
00:45 When she said that her son missed a lot of teaching hours that were not replaced, she
00:52 did not take the opportunity to say, "Now that I'm a minister, I'm going to improve
00:57 public schools and at the end of my tenure, parents like me will have no reason to move
01:03 their child from public to private schools."
01:06 She failed to do that.
01:07 And it was also kind of a bad form for the actions of her own government and of Emmanuel
01:15 Macron's government since 2017.
01:18 So it was really a terrible start for a minister to denigrate like that the public school.
01:24 2022, Emmanuel Macron is re-elected coming out of the COVID pandemic and both him and
01:30 his runoff rival Marine Le Pen trying to convince voters that they were the ones who could protect
01:37 them, who could ensure the welfare state and education is at the heart of it.
01:42 In fact, the new prime minister had been up to now the education minister.
01:46 Yeah, absolutely.
01:47 So education is really important in what we can call the Macronist ideology because it
01:53 is the idea of equality of opportunities and the fact that all children must have the opportunity
02:00 to improve themselves.
02:01 And to have an education minister who seems to be so out of touch and who seems to really
02:15 enjoy a private elite school and denigrate like that the state schools is really a problem
02:22 for that.
02:23 I can't help but notice the zip code, which is the sixth arrondissement of Paris, the
02:28 same one where a lot of the education of the new prime minister took place.
02:32 Again, this is going to reinforce perhaps this notion that more than ever the government's
02:41 run by elites.
02:42 Is that a problem in politics in France?
02:44 It can be a problem when you have the feeling that the general policies of the government
02:50 are for the elites.
02:52 That is a problem.
02:53 When you have a government that is already accused of being only pro-elite and pro-wealthy
02:59 people that is a problem.
03:01 If you have just the feeling that the country is governed by wealthy people running things
03:08 for wealthy people.
03:09 Another problem that we have to worry about is that the private school where the minister
03:17 has sent her children is not any private school.
03:21 It is also a school that has been investigated by the administration because it is a very
03:26 conservative Catholic school where there have been accusations of homophobic and sexist
03:32 behaviour.
03:34 So all of that adds obviously to the problem.
03:37 This dichotomy between the public and private schools, particularly the Catholic ones, parochial
03:43 schools in this case.
03:45 This is a longstanding culture war in this country.
03:48 It's interesting that that is coming up.
03:51 The president, Emmanuel Macron, this reshuffle supposed to give a new start to his second
03:57 mandate without a majority in parliament.
04:01 Why did he name Amélie Houdet-Arcastel when she's already the sports minister in an Olympic
04:08 year and got her hands full?
04:10 That is a big question.
04:11 This is a big question because obviously Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal wanted a smaller
04:15 government because there is this idea that you have to have an efficient government with
04:22 a smaller cabinet.
04:24 But obviously a smaller cabinet means that you have to merge some ministerial departments.
04:30 For example, there have been critics about Catherine Vautrin being minister for health
04:34 and minister for labour.
04:36 So no labour, no health as a full minister.
04:39 And obviously it is also a critic about Amélie Houdet-Arcastel because she was already, as
04:44 you said, a sports minister in the previous government, the Bologne government since 2022
04:49 because it was Gabriel Attal, the now prime minister, who was education minister.
04:53 And so the fact that she was added education gives the feeling that education is now a
04:58 sideline, it is just a plus for the sports minister.
05:01 She is in fact the sports minister in charge with the Olympics and Paralympic Games this
05:08 year.
05:09 And by the way, she also is an education minister.
05:12 That is not really a good form to set the list.
05:15 Camille Lecomte, let's look ahead because Emmanuel Macron giving this press conference,
05:19 it's happening in prime time and it could be long, right?
05:22 It could be more than two hours long.
05:25 What do you make of the format?
05:28 I think Emmanuel Macron really wishes to give a new start to his mandate.
05:35 As you said, he has no majority since 2022.
05:38 And since last year, there have been two major bills that have been adopted, the pension
05:44 reform and the immigration bill last month.
05:47 But now there is this feeling that we don't know where he wants to go.
05:52 That is a regular problem with Emmanuel Macron, he is a centrist position.
05:57 But now really there is a feeling that with no majority and no platform, no program, you
06:04 don't know really what he's going to make all these three and a half years he still
06:08 has to make.
06:09 So really, for now, there is no clarity, to be honest.
06:16 He has spoken of regeneration, of rearming, but these are kind of empty words for now.
06:23 So we are going to see tonight if he can give some substance for the policies that he's
06:30 going to pursue for the next month.
06:32 Where will he perhaps have to, where will he perhaps make headlines by filling us in
06:39 on what he stands for at this particular time?
06:42 Is it more on domestic policy or more on issues like the Middle East?
06:47 Last week there was this, the fact that some saying why wasn't France part of the, those
06:52 that struck Yemen and this kind of thing?
06:54 Or is it more about domestic politics?
06:56 Yes, obviously the international policies are really important right now.
07:01 But obviously also what the French people are waiting for is to deal with issues on
07:07 the domestic front.
07:09 And on the domestic front especially, there is a lot of confusion of what he's about
07:14 to do.
07:16 And what is the number one issue for you?
07:19 I think right now it is the question of, especially the economic issues, especially the question
07:29 of, how do you say, pouvoir d'achat?
07:33 Spending power.
07:34 Yes, thank you.
07:35 The question of employment in some measure.
07:38 But also everything that concerns the civic service, education and health.
07:44 I think that these issues are especially important right now.
07:48 And one final question.
07:50 Did Amélie Oudira Castellar do enough with her penitent visit to that primary school
07:59 in the 6th arrondissement to make his job easier?
08:02 I'm not convinced it was a good idea on a communication front because she was booed
08:07 on this visit.
08:08 And she is making this issue a regular soap opera.
08:14 And it has been less than a week that she's been a poet.
08:18 It has been pretty much the only issue that we have dealt with since last week.
08:24 So I think she's really weakening the government right now.
08:28 I'm not sure it's going to end any time soon.
08:32 So she might be for the chop.
08:34 She might lose her job.
08:35 It is not impossible.
08:36 All right.
08:37 We'll have to watch that one.
08:39 Damien Lecomte, many thanks.
08:40 Again, that press conference, which you can follow right here on France 24.
08:46 That's coming up in a little over 90 minutes time.
08:50 Next we have more news.
08:51 Plus, today's business will be crossing to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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