Christian Estrosi likes to repeat: “I am a reformist who fights against the conservatives of the right and the left.” A bold and courageous statement when many politicians are advocating for populism centered on economic nationalism and riding the wave of discontent among the working classes.
Anchored in the past, they cannot imagine the future. Do they know that in the San Francisco Bay Area alone, 60,000 startups are created each year?
So instead of engaging in rearguard battles, we must commend a modern vision of public policies capable of creating a reformist framework for a better future.
Nice Premium: Should we accept this pessimistic and fatalistic vision rather than, on the contrary, seek new ways to break down barriers and allow for the revival of growth and employment?
Christian Estrosi: Any form of fatalism regarding the future of France would be madness.
Indeed, we can see how difficult it remains to reform our country. I would have voted without hesitation for the original draft of the Labor Law, but it was so quickly stripped of its substance under union pressure that it has become a meaningless text. And now, even the watered-down text is the subject of mobilization by a determined minority aiming to block our country.
This is unacceptable, and the government missed the opportunity to show firmness from the start. Now, it finds itself confronted with a movement that knows it is possible to backtrack. This is a political error, a methodological error.
Nevertheless, I firmly believe that not all is lost. Our country endured terrible trials in 2015 and now faces an extremely difficult economic situation. Recovery requires us to uphold our commitments. A promise made during an electoral campaign is more than ever a commitment owed; if we want to engage France on the path to a return to growth and employment, we must achieve quick results.
In the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, as I have always done at the Departmental Council of the Alpes-Maritimes and then at the City of Nice, I am determined to keep my commitments. We have the duty to experiment: with a focus on concentration and specialization, I have launched the Regional Interest Operations, which should generate 1 billion euros of investment for the economy and businesses of our region. With my Deputy President Renaud Muselier, we have secured nearly 250 million euros in European funds! Solutions exist, but it takes political courage to implement them.
NP: Shouldn’t we debate the ideas with solid empirical studies to back them, explaining why structural reforms do not oppose recovery policies but, on the contrary, reinforce them instead of limiting ourselves to ideological battles?
Christian Estrosi: Einstein claimed that prejudice was harder to destroy than the atom! This observation applies precisely to the situation you describe. Too often, political choices are made with the certainty that the rulers hold the revealed truth. One starts from an ideology, a certainty that is applied to reality, rather than analyzing reality and drawing all the appropriate consequences from it.
For my part, I apply a deductive rather than inductive approach to all my public policies. Notably in terms of economy and employment! I want a strategic and ambitious region that sets courses and creates the conditions for success. I decided in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur what no other region has done to date, a true economic revolution: prioritize all our resources and policies on a limited number of sectors and segments where we have the assets to be national or international leaders. In a context of increased competition between regions to attract businesses, investors, and talent, it is the only way to massively and sustainably create added value and employment.
But I do not want a dirigiste region that decides alone without considering the needs of economic actors. This is precisely the goal of the work on the Regional Economic Development Plan, which will define the economic and innovation strategy for the entire regional territory: we work hand in hand with the region’s dynamic forces, the economic world, academia, and all local authorities.
NP: From a methodological perspective, wouldn’t it be better to identify a limited number of key barriers to break through as a priority rather than list all the reforms to be accomplished? For example: professional training (34 billion euros per year, which mainly fund training centers); a social insurance system with 38 pension funds, more than 100 health insurance funds.
Christian Estrosi: It is clear that any will to reform and progress must be supported by visible and identifiable projects. I can see it clearly in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur Region; there have been crucial cases that needed to advance very quickly.
I am thinking of European funds, the one-stop shop for companies in the region, or the Regional Investment Fund for Businesses (FIER), which we immediately launched in a very short time frame.
When you have 25,000 unfilled jobs in a region, with an unemployment rate far above the national average, it is clear that there are barriers that need to be broken down, and very quickly.
Regarding training, I had committed to adapting our training offer to the real needs of companies: it is a commitment that is being fulfilled, and for which my teams are particularly mobilized.
NP: Why not draw more inspiration from what works well elsewhere: define a fiscal and budgetary convergence strategy, reduce the public deficit while preserving universal access to quality public services (healthcare, education…)?
Christian Estrosi: It is a commendable intention, but achieving such balance requires a lot of perspective and political will, which are sometimes lacking. Public deficit reduction too often comes at the cost of future commitments, fundamental systems.
When I see more than 122 million euros of research credits being cut, while Germany increases its R&D budget by 75% in 10 years, I clearly accuse the government of committing a historical mistake that will weigh on future generations.
NP: The old left-right divide is gradually giving way to a division between reformists and conservatives, between proponents of openness and advocates of isolationism. Wouldn’t it be better to acknowledge this evolution by pushing more systematically for cross-partisan initiatives, mobilizing the intelligence and creativity of all those who, beyond their political differences, share a common desire to act?
Christian Estrosi: I am neither an ideologue nor a conservative. I do not believe in preconceived blocks of ideas and ready-made solutions. However, I fully embrace the promotion of a general spirit of reform, because what does not evolve becomes sclerotic and ultimately dies! Our localities, our country, and even our continent need change in a context where globalization naturally creates emulation, competition.
It is in this spirit that I constructed my lists for the regional elections. Whether it is Pierre Grand-Dufay, former vice-president of UPE 13, Bernard Kleynhoff, President of the CCI 06, or Georges Leonetti, dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Marseille, many of my colleagues come from civil society.
An exclusively partisan approach ultimately loses sight of the overall state of opinion and society. It is also in this spirit, beyond the specific conditions of this election, that I wished to chair a consultative Regional Conference alongside the three former region presidents, allowing all currents of thought to express themselves.
