Macron’s working us too hard, moan MPS

FRENCH MPS warned yesterday that Emmanuel Macron’s gruelling reform agenda was driving them to the brink of burnout, with France’s parliamentary speaker telling the president: “We need our weekends back.”

A renowned workaholic, the president reputedly sleeps only four hours per night and his governmental programme has been equally intense, pushing through parliament a string of reforms including changes to the labour code and immigration.

But even the hardiest of parliamentarians are complaining that the tempo has become too frenetic to handle.

In the land of the 35-hour working week, MPS have been working 80 hours a week for a month and the National Assembly has been debating for the past 17 days, including at weekends.

“People are exhausted,” complained Jean-luc Mélenchon, firebrand leader of the far-left Unbowed France party. “The workload is colossal,” moaned André Chassaigne of the Communists.

“This is no way to legislate,” said Christian Jacob, head of the opposition Republicans party.

A debate on asylum was followed by an equally intense one on farming and food, with more in the pipeline, often with thousands of amendments.

“There comes a point where it’s just not on any more,” warned François de Rugy, parliamentary speaker who is in Mr Macron’s Republic on the Move party. “This is not the right way of working for an assembly, and it doesn’t result in good laws.” And the workload is by no means confined to parliament.

‘Yes, the pressure is considerable; notably because the expectations of the French are considerable’

According to the French news channel BFM, four advisers and 14 cabinet secretaries have left the office of the prime minister since last May. One said advisers often worked for Edouard Philippe until “three of four in the morning”.

“We’ve had former prime ministers who were difficult, but it wasn’t this bad. The atmosphere wasn’t this unhealthy,” said the anonymous adviser.

But Mr Philippe promised no let-up. “We work a lot. I see to that,” he said. “Yes, the pressure is considerable; notably because the expectations of the French are considerable,” he said.