Gonna go deeper than breeder Macron trying to impregnate everyone in france on this one.
A broad decline in overall birth rate isn’t great for a number of reasons but like all things in politics it really depends on what slant you put on it.
The first thing, and probably the part some of you will raised eyebrows over, is whether there’s an ethnic side to him saying this. I’d argue that’s what most people jump to and, while it sometimes has merit, they sometimes don’t consider the other aspects.
Is the government saying: “Is there enough of the ‘right’ people being born? “
Far right parties would come out and say just it.
Neoliberal parties would mask it. Is that what Macron’s doing? I don’t know, given the general vibe of the French government towards immigrant populations, maybe.
The other side is that population decline is a big concern for many governments because if the birth rate declines alongside a decline in immigration, you end up with a bunch of elderly people and not enough people to look after them.
However instead of actually targeting things that would improve birth rate:
Improving the general state of *things*
Expanding social security and child benefit
Doing anything about climate change
Raising federal minimum wage
A government job guarantee program
Improving access to healthcare
Instead we get governments that say “Please fuck more.”