Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
VIDÉO - Macron à un jeune chômeur qui peine à obtenir un travail : "Je traverse la rue je vous en trouve" #JEP2018 pic.twitter.com/clfFlBuL52
— Arthur Berdah (@arthurberdah) September 16, 2018
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL Macron was facing fresh criticism today after telling an aspiring gardener that he could easily find a job if he would simply start looking in high-demand sectors like restaurants or construction.
In a video doing the rounds on social media, Macron is seen talking with the young man during a public open house at the Elysee Palace yesterday, part of the country’s Heritage Days.
“I’m 25 years old, I send resumes and cover letters, they don’t lead to anything,” he tells the president.
“If you’re willing and motivated, in hotels, cafes and restaurants, construction, there’s not a single place I go where they don’t say they’re looking for people. Not one – it’s true!” Macron replies.
He suggests going to the Montparnasse neighbourhood, an area chock full of cafes and restaurants, assuring him he would easily find work.
“If I crossed the street I’d find you one,” he says.
“So go ahead,” he adds, to which the man replies, “Understood, thank you” as they shake hands.
Industry officials say there are some 100,000 hotel and restaurant jobs that need filling in France, and have called on Macron to regularise more illegal immigrants to cover the shortage.
Yet critics quickly took to Twitter to deride the advice from the president, a former investment banker who has struggled to shake off a reputation as “president of the rich”.
“Completely disconnected from the reality of the French,” one user wrote. “How can someone show that much contempt, lack of empathy and ignorance in just 30 seconds?” asked another.
Christophe Castaner, the head of Macron’s Republic on the Move party, rejected accusations that Macron had “poorly treated the unemployed”.
“Is what the president said false? If you go to the Montparnasse area, you won’t find that they need workers?” he said in a television interview today.
“You would prefer empty words?” he continued. “I prefer a president who says the truth.”
It was the not the first time Macron has found himself in hot water after appearing to dismiss the concerns of ordinary people while he pushes reforms aimed at shoring up economic growth.
He once called opponents to his reforms “slackers”, and criticised union protesters for “stirring up trouble” instead of finding new jobs.
His poll ratings have slumped to their lowest levels since his election in May 2017, as tax cuts intended to spur spending, mainly for companies and higher earners, have yet to bear much fruit.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Not sure I’ve read the story right as finding it difficult to see the big issue.
He’s simply pointed out where there are available jobs, if you’re out of work, and need work, then surely you will look on every side of the street where the door may be open, regardless of your chosen profession, sometimes you have to do something you didn’t plan on working at, until the opportunity comes along for your chosen path.
What would they preferred he had said? If there are no opportunities in his field, why pretend otherwise.
@fintolini: There is no issue, as long as you don’t expect everything to be handed to you in life.
If that’s not the case, then it was an outrageous thing to say.
It just shows how loftily dismissive he is of the plebs who misguidedly brought him to power, and will hopefully boot him out of it ere long. A truly soulless individual
@Stephen: Why so Stephen?
@fintolini: I don’t speak French, but I think it caught the public furore because the Macron could have empathised with the young man a bit more, as he seemed a bit defeated when he contritely replied “Understood, thank you”.
Having said that, people jumping on that band wagon need to get a grip. Should Macron say “keep trying to follow your dream, stay on social welfare meanwhile”?! Interested to know what the young lad does next.
@fintolini: Its a big issue in Ireland as it would be seen as insulting to suggest a restaurant job to someone!
Can you believe that! Pity our politicians aren’t so brave to call it as it is and tell [insert useless degree title here] graduates to get on with it. Work is ALWAYS better than no work!
@MK76: He evidently hasn’t a clue how to engage with the concerns of anyone outside his corporate bubble. I’m sure your man either has one of those waiter jobs or else doesn’t need the President to tell him about them, he just aspires to something a little nearer his specialisation, how dare he!
@fintolini: not if you are French : they want a job which matches their studies!! Macron is right :there are jobs in the sectors he mentioned. Years ago the main union had a slogan : job at home! It Implied that this union wanted the state to create all jobs everywhere without taking in account the markets,! And I know people who refused jobs because they would have been obliged to go to travel a little bit and in one case the travels were paid!!!
@Stephen: I fancy a job in taxidermy, can I go on the dole until one is handed to me?
@Dave O Keeffe: I actually think that there is a shortage of taxidermists at the minute
@Dave O Keeffe:
And I want to be an astronaut – chances are it’s no work for life in my case then, woohooo!!
@fintolini: not an aceptable come back for a politician, they are elected and get paid – good pay and pension – to improve economy and create jobs in all sectors, not to tell people if you can’t find a job in your field go to work in construction or restaurants/hotels. He wouldn’t said that if he was in the opposition, it shows arrogance and the total lack of responsibility politic class have on how they perform on their job.
The man should have suggested to cross the road and apply together…one can’t find the job he wants and the other can’t do the job he has.
@Rosa Lopez: I’m sorry but it is not the job of politicians to create gardening jobs. If your man can’t find a leaf raking job in autumn he’s not going to get any gardening job. It’s always easier to get a job when you already have one. And, working in another sector to avoid not working looks good on a CV
Am I missing something here? He wants to work in a sector with no jobs so the president suggests sectors where there are vacancies and he’s getting grief for it. It’s not like he suggested that he has to stay in that job for life.
@The next small thing: Ab
@The next small thing: Absolutely. How many former block layers and other tradesmen started working in bars. I personally know of bar managers who were forced to drop their tools. Adapt and overcome
If we had the same attitude here it would take the spongers off the dole and off the taxpayers payroll. Congratulations Mr President.
We do have the same attitude here. The only difference is the pay and conditions are crap in Ireland.
@Brian harris:
Actually for minimum wage jobs we’re amongst the highest paid in Europe.
@: for sure
Cannot see what the fuss is about – a lot of us in work are on Plan B or C or D – and sometimes had to cross seas and oceans to implement them.
Is it proof of a politician displaying common sense that’s shocking some people here?
Rothschilds puppet
@Otranto: when you have nothing constructive to say but decide to fall back on crap with no basis in reality but which sounds like you have some intellect. Rosc…..
@Otranto: This is why I scroll down to the comment section of the journal. For this sort of depth of intellect.
@Garry Clarke: ‘Crap, no basis in reality’. So where did he come from all a sudden? Please explain.mMaybe you should check up some more on him before you hand down your definitive judgements.
@Jointheclubtoo: I have been following Macron for years
He has come from the private sector and has shaken up a lot of the cartels in France openly as finance minister. Only the conspiracy theorists choose to ignore all this.
@Garry Clarke: And he is a socialist. Look at his baclground.
How does that add up to the Roschil..Oh I forgot.
You didn’t and don’t know what you were talking about.
@Garry Clarke: stalker!
@Garry Clarke: Bet he doesn’t shake the banking cartels too much.
@Garry Clarke:
Yawn
@Garry Clarke: Bulllll£hitt
https://www.ft.com/content/9bd62502-12cf-11e7-b0c1-37e417ee6c76
@Jointheclubtoo:
Make sure to subscribe you pawn.
@Garry Clarke:
Macron like Merkel and many of other childless self serving elitists, they are the Judas of their time, and you are just a brick swallowing fool. Open your eyes ffs
Cheap labour required for the hotels.. same here terrible shift, zero hour contracts and treated like dirt but yet to rent a room is costing over a hundred minimum along with a special tax break …
@Bulmer Hobson:
You think contract landscaping is any easier?
@Bulmer Hobson: in France 0 hour contract do not exist
Their is also a massive shortage of truck drivers if you believe employers. Except there isn’t, wages like with the scullery maid type jobs he’s suggesting are nearly all rock bottom paid by the day not the hour and are less than minimum wage. Surely free market proponents like him would understand that supply and demand would dictate that wages would have risen not fallen for the last four decades through all the cries of shortage
Try getting a mortgage on strength of working in one of the said jobs.
@Jointheclubtoo: in France they cannot be less than the minimum wage
Ummmmm there is less than 5% on the dole here
Typical right wing Neo Liberal blaming the needy
Any chance we could go after the white collar crime for the millions they have written down
And the millions lost to tax dodgers
Thank you
@Jonathan Yeo: what’s wrong with advising someone to work in another sector while waiting for the ideal job to come along? Unemployment does not look good on a CV
@Jonathan Yeo:
Are you out of your mind?! We have the highest dependency on welfare in the entire EU! over 30% are dependent on state support because we’ve enabled a welfare class to thrive here while doing very little.
We have one of the lowest employment rates in Europe including eastern europe, wake up!
A controversial statement if ever there was one.
@the druid: It would appear so
@the druid: He should be burned at the stake for daring to tell someone struggling for work, where they may have a better chance.
Burned I tells ya…
@MK76: he’s being unreasonable. This person is looking for a job hes about. To me that a healthy position. When the government come looking for more taxes from working class people do we tell them to cross the road to the corporate classes.
@Paul Howe: he’s dead right. If you can’t get a job in one sector then change. It’s the same in Ireland. People moaning about jobs but nearly every shop in Dublin has vacancy signs in the window. The truth hurts!
@joe: Unfortunately though, not everyone’s circumstances are the same.
@Mjhint: it’s not a healthy position to not work at all until you find that perfect role. He can still complain about lack of gardening jobs while he’s laboring on a site. A shovel is still a shovel. In saying that Macron is an obnoxious prcik.
@Mjhint: So you’re telling me someone pointing out where one may find work, when someone points out they can’t find any, is unreasonable?
Sounds like more tripe from the a Entitled who expect life to be handed to them.
@MK76: so you wish this man to benefit others with his work. Yes that’s entitled.
Fine Gael. . a la France
This man was not entitled to a job in gardening , that’s what Macron was saying.
He should widen his net and try restaurants. Nice and cozy in a restaurant coming by into the winter compared to gardening
@Jimmy jones: maybe he just wants to work outside with mother nature as he might have a problem being couped indoors. If that’s the case then I understand him. I’ve always managed to strike a balance between the two but if I had my life over again I would stick to my designs instead of letting others take control. For many people working indoors is like being in prison.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: Its still a better choice than scrounging off the taxpayer!!!
@Paul Whitehead: Scrounging off the taxpayers like his banker backers and their buddies.
What a terrible thing to suggest.
@Nicholas Lynch: ‘Let him serve cake’
@Nicholas Lynch: not really , if you can’t get a gardening job then go work at something else in the meantime .
@Siobhán Ni Mhurchú: Siobhan. I trying to be ironic . I agree with him and cant see why anyone ( even french ) would have an issue with his comment
Macron is a dead eyed neoliberalist cold fish, so glad the public are starting to see through him!
@Stephen: There’s a touch of the Enda Kennys about him alright..
Macron UnMoron .. not everyone wants to work in a restaurant
@HybridDsl:
Most people do jobs they don’t particularly enjoy in order to pay the bills – the attitude that it’s better to live life on the dole than to do a job you don’t want to is a huge part of the problem.
Macron will see another revolution if he keeps that up?
With the rise of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation it’s not just the youth who should heed this advice.
We need to manoeuvre our thinking from holding on to jobs that will inevitably become redundant to upskilling the people that are serving them.
It’s not the best thing for macron to say. There is deeper meaning to it. It depends on what the young fella wants. If the young fella is not very ambitious and just wants to pay the bills, then gardening or washing the dishes is just fine. If he’s a bit more ambitious and wants a better job, then he has to be a bit more strategic and selective about his jobs. We don’t know the full story but macrons advice was poor and maybe a little ignorant.
lovely fella
This very newspaper reported a study that showed if you took a low paid unqualified job as a stop gap, it harmed your lifelong earnings more than waiting. So his advice was incorrect.
When was Macron in Montpernasse or latin Q in the last 3 years? Very hard to read shop “vacancy” signs from a speeding blacked out limo.
During the recession many people ended up working in different industries where there were job vacancies due to a lack in their own industry. In an ideal world we should be able to find work in our industries but we don’t live in an ideal world and need to do anything to get by. I’ve been lucky that I finished my master’s in education to find plenty of vacancies in teaching but I know that wasn’t the case some years ago. Macron isn’t wrong in what he said.
Every morning i cross that street.Adapt and overcome…
Smacks of a bit of a “Let them eat cake” attitude! Out of touch at best, callous at worst. I’m sure someone that has studied for years to achieve a career only to be told that you can find work in a cafe or bar no doubt for minimum wage.
have your say