Saturday, January 3, 2015

Legion of Honor: skirmish between Thomas Piketty and executive – the Obs

Legion of Honor: skirmish between Thomas Piketty and executive – the Obs

Paris (AFP) – The refusal by the economist Thomas Piketty successfully received the Legion of Honour sparked Friday vivid replicas of the executive to the person concerned, who assured to have acted without political afterthought while accentuating its criticism of the government.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Axelle Lemaire, lamented the “manner” in which the French economist refused the day before his appointment . knighthood in the Legion of Honor, the highest French distinction

He had told AFP shortly after his appointment in the Official Journal: “I refuse this appointment because I do not think whether it is the role of government to decide who is honorable, “adding that he would” do well to devote to renewed growth in France and Europe. “

By this rejection match a pike in government, Mr. Piketty gives “the feeling that it is a little angry,” because “we can say without going through an AFP dispatch a January 1st. It’s a question of how, “Ms. Lemaire estimated on France Inter.

Especially as the Legion of Honour is” a merit recognized by the nation, not for a membership to economic policy a government, “she said.

The person explained on the website of the World he found that” the history of Legion of Honor was completely outdated “and that he would have liked to be contacted in advance by the executive officials “so that they can legitimately doubt that I did not particularly want to be decorated by them.”

“This approach to decide which is the small group of honorable citizens whose signal merits should be recognized, it is a conception of the role of the state, the government, which seems totally outdated, “he said.

– The action catastrophic ‘government –

The author of “Capital in the XXI century” drives the point home: “the action (the government) in the last two years has been catastrophic and I did not need a Legion of Honour to say or write. “

Mr. Piketty, who had called for a vote for Francois Hollande and regrets in particular that large tax reform projects largely inspired by his theories were buried, however, assured that he “would have done exactly the same thing” with any other government.

Her book to the huge international impact is to demonstrate that, without political intervention through taxation, growth hollow rather than smooth inequalities of wealth.

microphone France Inter, the spokesman of the government, Stéphane Le Foll, for his part, wanted to distinguish between someone “who has interesting ideas, but a researcher who is in his office, which makes calculations which has a responsibility and an intellectual approach and the policy, which is facing reality. “

The Secretary of State for State reform and simplification, Thierry Mandon, found that the Thomas Piketty decision was not motivated by “humility” but rather “for political reasons”, while holding that the desired tax reform by economist would lead, if implemented, a “widespread protest.”

The elected Essonne defended on RMC and BFM TV that it was “well the role of government and the Republic to decide” and that this was not taking “not much time” and did not prevent not to address unemployment.

Like Mr Le Foll, he recalled that the Nobel laureate economist Jean Tirole himself had accepted the award.

Although he refused the Legion of Honour, Mr. Piketty remain appointed to the Order of the Legion of Honor unless it decides, as did Maurice Ravel in 1920 to to cancel the presidential decree of appointment.

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