welcome to hardtalk from paris, i m stephen sackur. france is recovering from the massive economic shock of the covid pandemic, but now it s exposed to the political uncertainty that comes with a looming presidential election. emmanuel macron hasn t officially declared that he will be a candidate, but there s little doubt he is running again. my guest today is one of his most important backers, economy and finance minister bruno le maire. now, he has big ambitions to make france the greenest, the most dynamic economy in europe. that is a handy election slogan, but is it credible? minister bruno le maire, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. minister, you came to this economy and finance ministry with big plans for structural reform. has the covid crisis destroyed those ambitions? i would say that it has destroyed no ambition. we will stick to the path of reforms. we have started the mandate of emmanuel macron with key reforms for the french economy, especially the reforms on taxat
he is running again. my guest today is one of his most important backers, economy and finance minister bruno le maire. now, he has big ambitions to make france the greenest, the most dynamic economy in europe. that is a handy election slogan, but is it credible? minister bruno le maire, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. minister, you came to this economy and finance ministry with big plans for structural reform. has the covid crisis destroyed those ambitions? i would say that it has destroyed no ambition. we will stick to the path of reforms. we have started the mandate of emmanuel macron with key reforms for the french economy, especially the reforms on taxation. we have reduced the level of taxation for french smes, for french people, by 50 billion euros. we have introduced reforms for the simplification of the life of the smes. then came this huge crisis, and i think this is the most important crisis since 1929 that we ve lived in europe, in the western world, in china, in i
Think that we should rely on our submarines. australia has taken another decision. well, that s the past. but i really think it was not a fair decision. when the foreign minister here in paris called it a stab in the back , prime minister borisjohnson, in the uk, responded by sort of mocking france, saying prenez un grip, donnez moi un break . he was laughing at france. and ijust wonder, given that the relationship with the uk right now, post brexit, looks very difficult, some say toxic, how you responded to those words from boris johnson? please raise the stake. raise the stake. raise the stake we are facing huge challenges. the fight against climate change. illegal migrations. the rise of china. what is the key concern for all of us?
There was no delay. we were sticking, as usual, to our commitments. we were sticking to our promises. the australian government has taken a decision which is not a fair decision, which is not the kind of decision we should expect from allies, but that s a fact. we have very good submarines. we have a french army which is one of the best in the world, and i really think that we should rely on our submarines. australia has taken another decision. well, that s the past. but i really think it was not a fair decision. when the foreign minister here in paris called it a stab in the back , prime minister borisjohnson, in the uk, responded by sort of mocking france, saying prenez un grip,