French President Emmanuel Macron challenged Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on Iran, vowed to revoke Harvey Weinstein’s Legion of Honor award and insisted Sunday that “France is back” on the world arena.
But Mr. Macron’s real problems lay at home. And in his first national television interview since his election, the 39-year-old leader struggled to claw back public support for his “economic transformation” of a stagnant France and to shed his image as a president of the rich.
Though he came into the presidency little-prepared to lead a nuclear-armed country, Mr. Macron played on his international stature during his appearance on the TF1 network.
“He wants to make things tougher with Iran ... I explained to him that for me that is a bad method,” Mr. Macron said. “Look at the Korea situation. We broke off all negotiations with Korea. What is the result? A few years later we have a country that is about to have a nuclear weapon.”
Macron to visit Iran soon
To drive home his support for the Iranian accord, the French leader pledged to visit Iran soon.
Asked if he was concerned that what critics see as Trump’s erratic leadership is dangerous or worrying, Mr. Macron said no.
“The U.S. is our ally,” Mr. Macron said, stressing the importance of military cooperation against Islamic extremists in Syria and beyond.
Mr. Macron also pointed to French accomplishments since his election- the choice of Paris to host the 2024 Olympics and the victory of France’s candidate to lead U.N. cultural agency UNESCO.
“We’re here. France is back,” he said.
No sympathy for Harvey Weinstein
The President showed no sympathy for Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who is facing a tsunami of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse.
“I have started the steps to withdraw the Legion of Honor award” bestowed on Weinstein in 2012 for his work on Oscar-winning French film “The Artist,” Mr. Macron said.
“The important thing is to talk. It’s not the women who should be ashamed, it’s the men,” he said.
When it came to what matters most to the French the economy and their jobs Mr. Macron appeared both combative and defensive. He refused to apologize for blunt language about workers in a struggling factory “screwing everything up” instead of looking for work.
“I wasn’t trying to humiliate. ... I take full responsibility for what was said,” he said.
France’s worker protections
Mr. Macron sought to convince viewers that his moves to dismantle some of France’s vaunted worker protections will ultimately create jobs by giving employers more flexibility to hire and fire instead of scaring investors away.
Mr. Macron upended France’s political system earlier this year with an unconventional campaign and new centrist party, but his poll numbers tumbled over the summer amid anger over his labor reforms and his clumsy handling of internal politics.
“We're taking care of the France where things aren't going well,” Macron said. “I'm doing what I said I would do during the election campaign.”
Mr. Macron angered unions last week with comments he made during a visit to a car parts factory, saying workers protesting over job losses should look for work at a nearby plant rather than "kicking up a bloody mess".
France unemployment issues
He said that reforms to overhaul France's unemployment insurance and professional training systems, which will be discussed in the next few weeks, would help the most in need while encouraging social mobility and merit.
Mr. Macron, whose popularity has slumped since his election, said the aim of scrapping the wealth tax was to help to retain talent in France and encourage the wealthy to invest.
“For our society to get better, we need people who succeed. We shouldn't be jealous of them, we should say: 'fantastic',” he said.
But the move has prompted opponents to label the former investment banker “president of the rich".
“Unemployment is currently falling. You'll see the full effect of the reforms currently carried out by the government in 1-1/2 to two years,” he said
During the campaign, Macron promised to lower France's stubbornly high unemployment rate to 7 percent by the end of his mandate from near double digits.
