This is one of the blind spots of the presidential campaign, swallowed up in the fall by identity themes and since the start of the school year by the health crisis. Invited, Thursday, January 6, to inaugurate the national congress of the Federation of Solidarity Actors, which brings together hundreds of associations specializing in the fight against exclusion, Emmanuel Macron outlined several avenues for “Fight against the entrenchment of poverty”.
Although he is not yet officially a candidate for his own succession, the Head of State has not failed to defend, by videoconference from the Elysee Palace, the results of his social action. “The” whatever it costs “is indeed an unprecedented economic and social policy which has enabled us to prevent the unprecedented health crisis we are going through from being coupled with a real social crisis”, welcomed Mr. Macron in particular. He nevertheless recognized that this policy did not prevent “More than difficult situations” among some students, whose affluence filled the beneficiaries of food aid during confinement and even today.
A “breathless” early childhood system
But the speech of the President of the Republic also served as a basis for the evocation of several avenues of reflection for the future candidate. Claiming to be determined to “Prevent poverty from being passed on from generation to generation”, Mr. Macron devoted the beginning of his speech to two projects deemed to be priorities: the question of childcare arrangements for young children, and that of young people in the care of social assistance for children.
On the first part, he first recalled the development, during his five-year term, of a course of “First thousand days” of the child, inspired by the recommendations of the commission headed by the pediatric neurologist Boris Cyrulnik. This parenting support system, led by the Secretary of State for Children, Adrien Taquet, focuses on the key period from the fourth month of pregnancy to the child’s 2 years, with the ambition to respond to the dismay expressed by some young parents at birth. Nevertheless, “We must go even further”, supported the President of the Republic, pointing out the existing shortcomings in terms of reception of young children, a “System out of breath”.
While the promise of 30,000 new crèche places was announced at the start of the five-year term, “We will manage to open half as many”, he acknowledged. “The number of places missing is estimated at 200,000 despite the investment that is made in favor of childcare of 15 billion euros”, said Mr. Macron.
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