Emmanuel Macron unveils €8bn antipoverty push to counter critics
The four-year campaign will aid those trapped by a lack of social mobility due to inefficiency in the French welfare system, says the president
Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron presented an €8bn plan to combat poverty, seeking to counter criticism that he’s favored the wealthy during his first 16 months in office. The four-year push, coupled with a proposal to reshape a range of government benefits into a basic income, will target a lack of social mobility that keeps generations in poverty because of the French welfare system’s inefficiency, Macron said in a speech in Paris on Thursday. "This is not a charity plan, this is not to live a bit better in poverty, this is about getting out of poverty," Macron said. The idea is to "do more for those who have less," according to a Twitter posting by the president’s office.
After defeating a populist challenger in last year’s election Macron has seen his popularity tumble, partly because early measures such as eliminating a wealth tax and liberalising the labour market were seen as benefiting business and the wealthy. Almost 14% of France’s population lived below the ...
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