Macron: Taking Off the Training Wheels

by Philippa Noble

Emmanuel Macron, after being elected in 2017 to bring about change in France, has since implemented his unemotional and self-described Jupiterian style through a long list of reforms. Recent examples include changes in pay for Air France employees, higher taxes on pensions, and changes in university applications allowing universities to select students on academic grounds. Yet none of these wide-ranging and provocative reforms have created half the reaction that reforms to SNCF have stirred up. In aiming to tackle the huge debt and excessive benefits of SNCF (the French train network), Macron provoked a three month long strike which has interrupted (so far) 20 days of travel. On the 50th anniversary of the infamous May 1968 protests, how can Macron justify such a controversial reform and how will he pull it off?

Even in Macron’s campaign title “En Marche!”, he reflected his goals for his entire presidency, ending France’s stagnation with a new party and drastic change.  His long list of reforms has only gone to reinforce this with edits of the beloved Code du Travail and cuts to public sector spending, amongst other policies. A more SNCF-specific goal, however, is to reduce the company’s debt - totalling at around 46 billion euros at the latest count. Increasing productivity, reducing factor costs (for instance, through cutting the benefits for employees of SNCF), and pushing for an efficient use of funds will all create a more competitive and efficient company, something that is crucial for its viability in the future. The reforms proposed by Macron aim to fulfill all these goals by limiting benefits for new employees and privatising the company in the not-so-far future. Opening up the train network to other companies will create a need for a more efficient use of funds and capital to keep up with a growing market - hopefully avoiding failures such as ordering 2,000 new trains that were too large for station platforms in 2014. Competition will also push the market price of train tickets down, creating a better outcome for the public. With SNCF reforms, it could be argued that Macron is following Lewin’s Model of Change. Despite being an organisational model, its base argument holds when applied to an economy. Small changes often fail as it is too easy to revert back to the old system. Using this model to unfreeze the status quo, change what is necessary, then freeze the organisation or society into the new status quo allows change to be cemented in place. Macron here has unfrozen society with his entire “En Marche!” campaign, gained his mandate for change, and is attempting to cement it in law. Although complete change will not be fully secured until the last of the current cohort of SNCF workers are out of the company (as this reform is gradual, applying only to new employees), the shift in policy will be signed into law and will hold until the next radical change.

From this perspective, it seems like goals will be met easily and the structure behind these drastic reforms is firm. However, there is always a price. The main concern at present is the substantial financial losses SNCF is making. These strikes cost the company 20 million euros a day (and as of May 3rd, the total exceeded 250 million), worsening the huge debt that Macron is planning to bring under the wing of France’s national debt. This is even more worrying with strikes set to continue well into June. Usually, another concern for drastic reforms would be a growth of public resentment. In other instances, such as pensions, resentment has grown for Macron. However, ⅔ of the public agree that the extensive benefits afforded to SNCF employees are unjustifiable so public support for the reforms remains high and is ever-growing. Furthermore, Macron has shown his ability to bounce back after his approval ratings last August plummeted below 40%. Soon after, however, approval rose above 50% by December. This shows Macron that, although the country is reacting to his reforms, in general, he has their support. Nevertheless, within SNCF, there is a greater concern for the future. With the removal of idealised benefits, working for the train network will become less attractive. The reason such benefits were there in the beginning was to offset the inconvenient hours, difficult entrance tests, and harsh working conditions. If there is a sudden loss of job applications, the quality of train service could fall due to less qualified workers or due to a disruptive lack of workers (the frustration of which, we in Britain know well). Perhaps this will be countered by privatisation, so companies can compete not only for the best prices but the best workers as well - building back up the lucrative image of the roles. However, this might not be the case, instead harming the quality of the industry in the long run.

In conclusion, seen in Macron’s unlikely rise to power, it is clear that the French want reforms and that (especially in the case of SNCF) they are necessary. Macron remains as dynamic as ever, pushing through a list of reforms in the last few months, and is fulfilling his mandate to change France for the better. SNCF reforms will likely bring about huge change for the train network if the government holds fast, which is almost certainly what will happen with a fairly unemotional and pragmatic leader such as Macron. However, in the future, the costs must be evaluated fully. Losses from these strikes will very likely be colossal and could hurt the company, France, and all the workers in the industry irreparably - especially with the possibility of an immediate loss of applicants. Nevertheless, in Macron’s opinion, and it seems the public’s, France desperately needs reform so that the all-encompassing workers’ rights of many a revolution don’t hinder the potential of in a modern era France.