On May 7, 2018, Emmanuel Macron celebrated the first anniversary of his election. The rejection by a fraction of the electorate of Marine Le Pen had weighed heavily on this election. Emmanuel Macron therefore appeared as a “default president,” having not received a specific mandate from voters. [1] He assured himself that he is invested with a particular mandate of reforming France.
An authoritarian president?
His methods of governance are divisive; however, they have yielded results. He was able to pass an important – and highly controversial – reform of the labor code. Nevertheless, the process adopted for doing so - the so-called “ordonnances” – is not innocent per se and has left its traces. Macron also acquired the taste for the ordinances, diverting a procedure that was initially reserved for budgetary matters. Its use now tends to be systematized and thus contributes to the image of authoritarianism that seems to stick to the President. [2]This is an image that is actually disastrous, because we feel the difference between legitimate authority and authoritarian behavior ... Emmanuel Macron brutalizes much of the French public opinion. This will leave traces.
President of the rich?
If his reforms are thus on track, and we think of course about the reform of the Société National des Chemins de Fer (SNCF), they continue to be strongly contested. We must understand the reasons. Attacks on public services affect, in the first place, the most disadvantaged people. In fact, many of these reforms are hurting the working classes hard. Slippages of language are added to this: talking about “people who are nothing” confirms that Emmanuel Macron has little empathy for those who are not from the same background as him. Tax measures that massively benefit the wealthiest are also problematic.
In his defense, he will say that this is necessary to revive the French economy. But, if the figures of 2017 can be misleading, the sharp slowdown in growth in early 2018 is now a real problem. The image of an authoritarian president is then combined with that of a “President of the rich” or even “very rich.” [3] This combination may well be deleterious in the future.
The fascination of the European Union
Emmanuel Macron wants to reform the EU but, for that, he must impose the reforms decided by the European Commission, which we call “GOPE.” [4] Emmanuel Macron is the president who will force the French society itself to the logic of the European Union, refusing to comply with its will in the 2005 referendum. He should not acquire the image of the President from abroad. The consequences would be disastrous, if we remember the representations of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution...
But the European Union is not reformable. With a hope to make progress, it would be necessary to have the courage to cause a major crisis, to threaten to “kill the EU.” However, Emmanuel Macron is convinced that the survival of the EU precedes any reform. Here is the failure of his attempts to reform the EU.
Hence, we see the childish rapprochement between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump. Apart from the fact that there was a lot of communication, it shows the strategic impasse in which the President has locked himself up. There are many differences between the two men, from Iran to free trade. Emmanuel Macron took the responsibility – and the political risk – of associating with the US strikes on Syria, outside of any legal framework. He hoped, in return, for US support for his European policy. But will it be enough to bow Germany? We can doubt it.
This should lead to the question of the image of France rather than that of Emmanuel Macron. France, according to Macron, has no projects; it only has a balance sheet and an operating account. France is no longer behaving; it manages itself.
In this way, the presidency of Emmanuel Macron is revealed in the most crude, but also the most truthful way, a presidency that has ideas about France, but has completely forgotten what is the idea of France.
[1] https://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/presidentielle/quatre-chiffres-qui-montrent-que-l-election-d-emmanuel-macron-n-est-pas-si-ecrasante_2
[4] ALLEMAND, Frédéric, "Les GOPE" dans ALLEMAND, Frédéric, L'Union économique et monétaire: origine, fonctionnement et futur. Sanem: CVCE, Dossier thématique, 2013. CVCE, 2013.
