Speaking before the French National Assembly, Attal vowed to “lift the burden” of rules and regulations for small business owners, slash red tape and reduce payroll taxes in a bid to encourage employers to give raises to minimum wage workers.
Attal also confirmed a total of €2 billion in tax cuts for the middle class, a move which was first announced earlier this month by Macron.
“Our farmers embody our fundamental values,” Attal said, lauding their “strong work ethic and entrepreneurial freedom.” Farmers have been blockading highways across France in recent weeks, asking for concrete measures to cut regulations and costs, and improve their living conditions.
The 34-year-old Attal, France’s youngest-ever head of government, laid out his four “priorities” as prime minister: labor, state services, restoring authority in classrooms and society, and protecting the environment.
“Those who work should always earn more than those who don’t work,” Attal said, announcing a mandatory 15 hours a week of activity — which could, for example, take the form of trainings designed to help people back into the workforce — for welfare recipients.
Attal added that France must “question” its social aid system to disincentivize inactivity. “Having a more efficient and less costly social model isn’t a dirty word, it’s an imperative,” he said.
