The hardline conservative Laurent Wauquiez added the string of budget cuts and reforms announced by the government this summer could spell bad news for France’s struggling middle class.
Making a thinly veiled allusion to the president’s start-up party, Republic on the Move, he said: “Mr Macron has no project for France. His project is himself.
“We don’t know which direction he wants to take the country in because he hasn’t told us what his plan is. He’s ‘on the move,’ but where is he going exactly?”
The leading conservative, who is the favourite to win his party’s leadership in December, also accused Mr Macron of being two faced.
He said: “Mr Macron is constantly engaging in double talk. He wants to boost people’s purchasing power but increase the CSG (General Social Contribution) tax.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
“He wants to boost defence spending but slash the army’s 2017 budget… He’s insincere and constantly contradicting himself.”
When asked to comment on the president’s reform agenda, Mr Wauquiez said that Republicans “would only support Macron reforms they believed in,” adding that the ones proposed by the government so far would, in his opinion, lead to an increase in taxes and hit middle-income families the hardest.
Speaking to French daily Le Figaro Mr Wauquiez, 42, also spoke of his own leadership bid, saying that he wanted to restore voters’ faith in his party, which came close to implosion after its star presidential candidate, François Fillon, was charged with fraud and embezzlement in the middle of the election campaign.
He said: “We lost an election that was unloseable and were brought to our knees by a wave of betrayal… The party lost its soul and right-wingers no longer know which values it stands for.
“This is why the party must profoundly renew itself. It must be rebuilt and adhere to a clear set of values… The right is not dead.”
Mr Wauquiez, a self-proclaimed Europhile, added that the Europe Union was also in “desperate need of reform”.