France must slash taxes, fast.
That, according to the French prime minister, is the main message from an unprecedented three-month “great debate” in the wake of anti-government “yellow vest” protests.
Unveiling the findings from two million online contributions and 10,000 hours of town hall debates around the country, Edouard Philippe said on Monday that “huge exasperation” over the level of taxation was a prime concern.
"The debate clearly shows us in which direction we need to go: we need to lower taxes and lower them faster," Mr Philippe said in a speech in the Grand Palace in Paris.
Easing the tax burden was one of four main demands, the prime minister said. The others were restoring ties between urban and provincial France, more grassroots democracy and tackling climate change without punishing the poor.
He also hinted at a reversal of a new 80kph (50mph) speed limits on B-roads, seen by many yellow vests as a ploy to fleece rural motorists. “I wanted to save lives (but) was accused of seeking to fill the coffers,” he said. “I must learn to deal with incomprehension or rejection.”
The "yellow vest” revolt, which got its name from the high-vis vests worn by demonstrators, erupted in small-town France in mid-November in protest at slated fuel tax hikes. It mushroomed into anger against President Emmanuel Macron and violent riots in Paris not seen since the student uprising of May 1968.
But in the face of gilets jaunes fury, some question whether his reform zeal remains intact after he placated protesters with €10bn (£8.6bn) in sweeteners.
Mr Philippe said the findings suggested the Macron government had made the right diagnosis but had not been fast or “clear” enough in hacking at the taxation rate, which at 46.2 per cent of GDP is the highest in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
"We have reached a point where hesitating would be worse than an error, it would be an offence,” said Mr Philippe. "The need for change is so radical that any conservatism, any feebleness would be unforgiveable in my view.”
The French, he added, had also clocked that “we cannot lower taxes if don’t lower public spending”, the second-highest in the world after Finland and is the equivalent of 56.8 percent of GDP, according to the OECD.
However, he gave no indication how he intended to broach the explosive issue – the bane of successive Gallic governments for decades – nor how he would square lower taxes with French demands for better public services closer to home.
LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP
That task is left to Mr Macron, who is due to make proposals in a landmark speech in the coming two weeks, seen as a make-or-break moment in his five-year presidency.
Briefly on the ropes over the yellow vest movement, Mr Macron has clawed back some public support not least by participating in almost 100 hours of local debates around France in person.
"I intend to transform anger into solutions," he declared in an open letter to the country on January 13. "Your proposals will help build a new contract for the nation," he promised.
The jury is still out, however, over whether he can transform the debate into concrete proposals that will assuage the gilets jaunes. He has already ruled out reinstating the wealth tax, a key yellow vest demand.
There has been talk of him holding a referendum on any major proposed changes to the political system. Critics have dismissed the exercise as hot air.
"As expected, the government only picks from the great debate what suits its policies," said one commentator on FranceTVInfo. "I think the debate revealed the need for tax fairness, which is not the same thing," said another.
“This is a big masquerade,” said Christian Jacob, parliamentary leader of the Right-wing opposition party, The Republicans. “This debate should have ended on March 15 but there is no end in sight. What the government and Emmanuel Macron want is to keep it going over the European elections (on May 26). But the French have had enough. They want proposals.”
He said under the guise of reformism, the Macron administration had in fact raised state spending and compulsory tax contributions over the past two years. “Macron is (François) Hollande (the previous Socialist president), only worse,” he claimed.
Polls suggest the French remain highly sceptical, with one finding that almost 80 per cent don’t think the great debate will "resolve France’s political crisis" and another that it won’t result in lower taxes.