PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron will press for rules to better protect French workers from what they see as unfair labor competition from eastern Europe during a visit to the region later this month, an official said on Monday.
Macron has pledged to take steps to counter “social dumping” in France in which companies employ cheaper labor from the poorer eastern European states, threatening French workers’ jobs.
EU states are divided on rules under which, for example, a Bulgarian truck driver or a Lithuanian bricklayer can work in France for a limited time for the eastern European wage, often below the minimum level guaranteed in the west.
Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic say they should be allowed to compete on lower prices — just as more developed western EU nations compete on quality products and know-how — to catch up after decades of communist stagnation.
The dispute is shaping up as one of the most contentious issues facing the bloc, exacerbating an east-west rift as it seeks unity to tackle Brexit.
The official said Macron would seek stricter rules on “social dumping” during his August 23-25 trip to Austria, Romania and Bulgaria, when he would also hold talks with the Czech Republic and Slovakian prime ministers.
The official described the visit as “an important symbol, since these are countries which in the past have been neglected, or ignored by France, or at the very least they feel as if this has been the case.”
Less than three months after his election, Macron has seen his popularity drop after announcing budget cuts, launching a divisive labor reform and engaging in a damaging dispute with the military.
A series of opinion polls last week showed the percentage of French citizens who said they were satisfied with Macron’s policies and trusted their young leader to deal with the country’s problems plunging. The reversal might not affect the visible international profile he has cut since taking office, but it could hurt Macron’s ability to secure his ambitious domestic agenda.
France’s Ifop polling agency put it bluntly: “Apart from Jacques Chirac in July 1995, a newly elected president has never seen his popularity rate falling as quickly during the summer after the election.”
Four polls over the past week showed Macron’s support down sharply from earlier surveys, though each one measured popularity differently. The polls by Ifop, Harris Interactive, YouGov and Elabe showed between 36 and 54 percent of respondents with positive views of Macron’s presidency, a decline from previous gauges of public opinion that also had shown his approval ratings down since he won 66 percent of the vote in the May election.
His declining approval is striking given that Macron was being credited two months ago with giving France a boost of much-needed confidence after years of security fears and economic stagnation. Increasingly, he instead is portrayed as power-hungry and inexperienced.
While struggling at home, Macron has succeeded in raising France’s diplomatic profile, hosting meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump and Libyan peace talks in Paris.
Jean-Daniel Levy, director of the Policy and Opinion Department at the Harris Interactive polling institute, connects the president’s popularity slide to the government’s plans to reduce housing aid for students and to initiate tax reform. The reform aims to help lower-income employees, but could weigh on retirees.
Macron to raise issue of cheap labor with eastern European leaders
Macron to raise issue of cheap labor with eastern European leaders
