The Prime Minister, Jean Castex was invited for the first time on the political program of the public service this Thursday evening
- Jean Castex was the guest of Léa Salamé and Thomas Scotto in the program “Vous avez la parole” on France 2 this Thursday evening.
- The Prime Minister made some announcements on the management of the coronavirus health crisis, in terms of restrictions, and support for professionals in difficulty.
- Asked about issues related to insecurity and delinquency, he also promised that the government will increase the justice budget by 8% in 2021, “unheard of” according to him.
“We do not play with an epidemic”. The tone was serious, but the words measured. Prime Minister Jean Castex made his baptism of fire on television this Thursday evening by participating in the program “Vous avez la parole” on France 2. The head of government made some announcements concerning the fight against the coronavirus, and the economic difficulties caused by Covid-19. He also spoke about insecurity and the Bridgestone plant in Béthune.
Castex does not completely rule out re-containment
The day after the announcement of new restrictions, Jean Castex aimed to convince the population to be cautious in the face of the epidemic. He took advantage of the show to make an appeal. “Public opinion must be very attentive. If we do not act, we could find ourselves in a situation close to that of spring. It could mean re-containment, ”he warned.
However, the head of government has ruled out the track of “reconfiguring the Ehpad”. “We must do everything to avoid that,” he said, again urging the elderly to be careful.
Ads about restaurants, swimming pools and Roland Garros
Faced with the anger of restaurateurs, forced to close for 15 days in Aix-Marseille and Guyana, Jean Castex has announced financial support. “We will compensate for the loss of turnover that you will suffer,” he told a Marseille restaurateur who questioned him on the show. “There is no question that you will suffer the consequences of these health conditions.”
Another announcement, the government leaves the local authorities the possibility of closing the indoor swimming pools.
Tennis fans must have been disillusioned in front of their TV: Jean Castex has declared that the maximum capacity of 1,000 people for sporting events in large cities will also apply to Roland-Garros. “There is no reason that we do not apply the same rules everywhere,” he said. “So there will be no public, given the number of people who organize,” replied journalist Thomas Sotto. Matignon then told AFP that accredited people (organizers, journalists, players, staff…), “subject (s) to a specific protocol”, were not counted among the 1,000 people authorized per day.
No StopCovid app in your smartphone
That’s more info. Questioned by journalist Léa Salamé, Jean Castex admitted not having downloaded StopCovid, the application launched by the executive to identify and trace infected people and their contact cases. He justified this choice in particular by the fact that he no longer takes the metro since he worked in Matignon, which he “regrets”.
« Je ne l’ai pas téléchargée » : interrogé sur l’application #StopCovid, @JeanCastex explique qu’il ne l’a pas installée sur son téléphone #VALP pic.twitter.com/0CrD1WxHpM
— Vous avez la parole (@VALP) September 24, 2020
Among the many ministers who came to support him, seated in the public and therefore masked, most downloaded the app. But Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti and Minister Delegate for the Interior Marlène Schiappa did not, like the vast majority of French people.
“We won’t let you down,” he told Bridgestone employees
This is the industrial dossier for this fall. Japanese tire maker Bridgestone wants to close its Bethune plant, and more than 800 jobs are at risk. “Bridgestone made some very poor investment choices. It is a company which has positioned itself very badly on the economic market, ”blamed Jean Castex.
« On ne vous laissera pas tomber » : le Premier ministre @JeanCastex réagit à l’annonce de la fermeture de l’usine #Bridgestone à #Béthune (Pas-de-Calais) #VALP pic.twitter.com/Z5XPrRb6Tj
— Vous avez la parole (@VALP) September 24, 2020
The government “will discuss step by step with them to convince them to invest” on their work tool, he assured. “We will help them. We do not forbid anything, “promised the Prime Minister, conceding however that” the game will be very complicated. “We will not let you down,” he told the two factory employees invited on the show. In the event of the plant being closed, the Prime Minister considers that the recovery plan will make it possible to find “individual solutions”.
An 8% increase in the justice budget
Part of the program was devoted to insecurity. In this regard, Jean Castex announced that the justice budget would be increased by 8% in 2021, “never seen” for more than 30 years according to him, with the hiring of “900 staff immediately”. He also unveiled the creation of “local criminal judges” for “petty crimes which, given the congestion of justice goes under the radar, that is to say a form of impunity settled on all these little facts ”. This measure will be tested “in several communities”.
Avec @E_DupondM, nous allons créer des juges pénaux de proximité.
Leur mission : que les petits délits, et les délits dits contraventionnels, soient effectivement et réellement sanctionnés.#VALP pic.twitter.com/vn5IKoF5h7— Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) September 24, 2020
“There will be 10,000 more police officers under Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term,” the Prime Minister also said, and measures will be taken to strengthen the municipal police.
In response to criticism from the right-wing mayor of Cannes David Lisnard on security policy, Eric Dupond-Moretti tackled the security record of his party (Les Républicains), when “12,500 police posts were cut” under Nicolas Sarkozy, including Jean Castex, ex-LR, was Deputy Secretary-General at the Elysee Palace. Sitting right next to the Keeper of the Seals, Gerald Darmanin, also from the Republicans, must have appreciated.
