Among the youth, there are those who will integrally be part of a lineage more commonly referred to as the local “right wing”. Gaël Nofri talks to us about Nice, the CPE, or the upcoming elections in which he will participate, even if just as a voter, in its development.
Having entered the political arena under the guidance of Charles Pasqua, it is in his role as the General Secretary of the Nice Association of Friends of the Mayor that Gaël Nofri supports Jacques Peyrat and his city council team today.
As the leader of Nice Generation Hope, Gaël Nofri is also the webmaster of his own site, www.gael-nofri.org, and it is through a series of questions and answers that Nice Première offers to introduce him.
Nice Première: Gaël Nofri, can you introduce yourself to the visitors of Nice Première?
Gaël Nofri: Well, there’s not much to say… I got involved in politics very early, within the Rally for France led by Charles Pasqua, whom I have the honor to represent in the city of Nice today. In 2004, for the regional elections, I was the departmental list leader for a diverse right-wing group “Priority Action: Building the Future”. That same year, I was also the president, for the Alpes-Maritimes, of the Support Committee for the “Charles Pasqua: France First” lists. Additionally, I am the General Secretary of the Nice Association of Friends of the Mayor.
NP: How do you position yourself in the events that have been shaking France in recent days?
GN: Firstly, the First Employment Contract in itself. I am convinced that it’s a good thing for the youth who suffer most from unemployment (23% of young people are unemployed, 50% of those from sensitive areas). I also think that it is a contract accompanied by numerous aids, guarantees, and support methods that no other contract guarantees. The New Employment Contract has helped create 280,000 new jobs, nearly a third of which would never have emerged without this mechanism. We can only hope that the CPE has even greater success: the goal is to create jobs.
Then, the problem comes from the protests and blockages, the demands and claims of unions, student and high school movements. It’s natural that they express and ask for improvements, that’s their role; we must negotiate in tranquility and serenity. Now, it’s not about hindering those who want to work, even if they were to become a minority (which does not seem to be the case today). The right to education is one of the most fundamental rights of our system and cannot be compromised under the pretext of the right to strike and protest. Nor is it about allowing street movements to place the state under guardianship; the power to make law belongs only to the government when it proposes a text that parliament accepts, then that must be implemented. This is democracy.
NP: Don’t you think a two-year probationary period is a bit too burdensome to build a professional project?
GN: It seems that the President of the Republic has decided in this direction. But, it must be said that this period is a period of consolidation, during which the severance pay grows over the 12 months, and the CPE remains a Permanent Contract.
Perhaps the two-year period was too long, in any case shorter than eighteen months is, in my opinion, a mistake. Indeed, for such a contract to be advantageous, the probationary period must be long enough to allow the employer to make a full-year assessment of the new employee’s contribution to their company. You are concerned about the risk of disrupting a professional project with a two-year probationary period, but the realities are different: for a young person entering the workforce today, the period of instability averages between eight and eleven years. If this period can be reduced to two years with the CPE, the bet is won!
NP: You are the founder of a political association in Nice. Can you tell us a little more about this?
GN: Yes, after the 2004 regional elections, I wanted to bring together a number of people who had campaigned with me to think about the future of our political commitment. More than an association, it’s a think-tank. It aims to bring together people from different backgrounds with various interests.
