Under the rain, the day after Nicolas Sarkozy’s televised interview, Nice is grumbling. Like the rest of France, the capital of the French Riviera expressed its dismay towards its President. Economic crisis, unemployment, reforms—a week after the French revolt in the streets, the Head of State made a live television appearance. For an hour and a half, the President defended his reforms and repeated the same speech. “He did nothing concrete, did not mention any emergency plan, not even for those who have already lost their jobs and have no other resources,” Régis, 45, said heatedly.
The Head of State outlined a series of social proposals to support the French affected by what he calls “a crisis like the world has never seen in a century”. He aims to help the middle classes, unemployed youth, and increase family allowances. He will discuss this with social partners on the 18th of February, the start date of the negotiations. “Why wait until then? They need to deal with this now. In any case, this meeting should have already taken place a long time ago,” continues Régis, glued to his umbrella.
“A disaster”
The disappointments do not stop there. The people of Nice are unhappy, and they are making it known. “It’s useless to inform the public about reforms built haphazardly,” comments Catherine, a 37-year-old homemaker. For her, “action is needed on the ground, and quickly, starting first and foremost with the purchasing power, the most alarming problem.” For some, Nicolas Sarkozy needs to overhaul his entire policy and “stop his arrogance. We’re headed for a disaster,” warns Marie, a fruit and vegetable vendor on Cours Saleya. “What he’s doing is nonsense, just air. He needs to stop. How can you put money in banks before putting it in hospitals? Just that is nonsense,” she continues, more furious than ever.
“The President hears the complaints but ignores them”
Difficult days and weeks await the President of the Republic, criticized from all corners of the country. It seems he does not tackle the issues head-on: “Nicolas Sarkozy hears the anger of the French but ignores it. He remains true to himself,” analyzes Mathieu, a first-year master’s student in Law.
Fortunately, there are still some optimists in these times of hardship. “I found the President very good overall in his speech,” notes Thomas, a 25-year-old delivery driver. “I think the future three-thirds rule is an excellent idea,” he continues. Submitted to the unions in about ten days, this rule favors an equal sharing of wealth in companies: 33% for salaries, 33% for profits, 33% for investments. Now, it remains to agree with social partners to get out of the crisis.
