Emmanuel Macron

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This is also a macron. And *this* is a French macaron.
I am a socialist. I believe being a socialist is a necessity these days.
—Emmanuel Macron, in 2014[1][better source needed]
To be honest, I am not a socialist.
—Emmanuel Macron, in 2016[2][better source needed]
I am a maoist. A good program is a program that works.
—Emmanuel Macron, in 2017[3]
That's the face of a man who thinks, "How bad were you that people looked to me for help?"
Going on strike to protest against
French Politics
Icon politics France.svg
Aux armes, citoyens!


Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (1977–), commonly known as Emmanuel Macron, nicknamed La glue[4], is the 8th President of the Fifth Republic of France, having twice defeated the leader of Front National (which, after the meteoric loss, was renamed to National Rally) Marine Le Pen in the second round of the 2017 and 2022 elections. He won in a landslide: 66.1% to Le Pen's 33.9%; but since then his approval ratings dropped considerably, though he was still able to win a 58% of the vote in the second round in 2022. A former member of the centre-left Socialist Party, which he left in 2009, in 2016 he founded La République En Marche ! (later renamed Renaissance), a centrist to right-wing and pro-European political party. He's a typical economic liberal, which in Europe means he supports free markets over a welfare state (the U.S. idea of a liberal is very different from the rest of the world). From tax cuts to the fight against "Islamo-Leftism", the default state of his presidency has always been "controversial."

He has publicly upheld France’s secular values. Compare that to his rival who is a Christian fundamentalist and nationalist fascist.[5] This has veiled, however, an islamphobic politic going against the liberty of conscious of laïcité as it was voted in 1905.

Le bon, le mal, et le blasé[edit]

The Good[edit]

He wants a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine crisis.[6] (would be nice to act on that though)

He said that France must acknowledge responsibility for deporting thousands of Jews to Nazi Germany in WWII.[6]

He wants a gender-balanced cabinet.[6]

He opened medically-assisted procreation to all cisgender women.[7]

He implemented a system of bonuses and penalties to encourage companies to make more unfixed term contracts[8], but this has been severely criticised too.[9] As President, in order to fight unemployment, (something that every French president failed at since 1980) he signed into law several reforms, that have had an effect from 2017 to 2022, but unemployment has risen dramatically again since then.[10] These initial reforms, in fact, were inspired by the models adopted in Germany, Denmark and Sweden, and even received overall support from the CFDT at the beginning of the presidency, France's most influential union.[11][12]

He wants to create a European minimum wage.[13]

The Bad[edit]

He said that Africa's problems are 'civilizational' and happen because of women having '7 or 8' kids (which is true for only one or two out of over fifty African states),[14] not because of colonialism.[note 1] Never mind that Africa is a giant and extremely diverse continent with each country varying a lot from each other. On climate change, his results are described as a "catastrophe" by Greenpeace.[15] He wants to "retake control" of migratory politics and fights against "medical tourism", and a worsening of foreigners rights has been recorded.[16][17][18][19] Police violence was very important during the peak of the yellow vest movement (2018–2019), and remains an important problem, which Macron has adressed variously over the years in contradicting manner [20][21][22][23]. His alliance voted a severe immigration law, of which radical parts were later removed by the council of state, together with the far-right National Rally in 2023 in the national assmebly.[24] Through using article 49-3, among other things, Macron has betrayed his own promises of institutional change, and his presidency is characteristic of the "presidential monarchy".[25] The consumption of cannabis stays severely repressed in France, especially under Gérald Darmanin.[26][27][28][29][30]

Economically, Macron is a liberal, and his economic results are horrible.[31], with rising poverty[32] and a huge dept[33]. According to his supporters, the reason is that he used France's past methods on the economy,[34], while his adversaries find that it is a result of his liberal policies. In 2018, public debt was of 98,2 %, while at the end of 2023 it was of 110,6 %. [35]. His general economic line started in 2012 under the presidency of François Hollande, and consists of less taxes and more flexibility.[36] The Bayrou government announced in 2025 a return to normal, for some economists a change signifying a step away from politic of offer.[37] According to the CGT, an important trade union in France, the changes done by Macron on the "code du travail" (the law code on work relations) have decreased employees rights.[38]

Said about abortion that "it is a right but it's always a tragedy for a woman" [4] Later he denounced the 2024 proposition of the New Popular Front on transgender rights as ludicrous.[39] He promised 1 million euros for associations specialising in the fight against sexism, but never delivered them, and one of his prime ministers (Gerald Darmanin) was named while under investigation for accusations of rape.[40]

The Blasé[edit]

Many have argued that Macron's tax-cuts (e.g., his 70% reduction of the wealth tax) overwhelmingly benefit the top 0.1%.[6] However, Macron has argued that the higher taxes of the past have backfired and resulted in many successful people leaving the country.[41] He argues that these cuts are necessary to stimulate economic growth.

He effectively made the state of emergency permanent by granting police unprecedented powers to harass citizens for the sake of anti-terrorism.[42] His labor reforms caused a string of layoffs throughout French society, and despite initially (2017–2022) having an absolute majority in parliament (later lost permanently after 2022, as he didn't win it back like he hoped in 2024[43][44]), accomplished these reforms already in his first mandate by executive order, completely undercutting parliamentary debate and any potential amendments to soften its blow.[45]

En Marche!, La République en Marche, Renaissance[edit]

Renaissance, previously En Marche! and La république en marche, is a centrist French political party founded by Macron himself after ditching the centre-left Socialists. It literally translates to something along the lines of "On the March!", which would sound very odd in English. A better translation would be "forward" or "onward". It also shares Emmanuel Macron's initials... Founded in 2016, the party took France by storm in the 2017 elections, making Macron president, winning an absolute majority in the National Assembly, and winning a decent minority of the French Senate. The party is arguably the most pro-European major party in France.

The party is the main political base for the Macronie, the government and reforms of president Macron.[46] The macronie is described as moving to the right since 2017,[47][48][49][50][51] having a mostly centre-right electorate now, though previously it was described as making occasional economic moves to the "left", during special situations.[52] For the 2022 elections, party representatives and Macron feared that in case he and the far-right came to the second round, there would be difficulty convincing the left of voting for him again due to this continuous move rightward. [53] When the second round finally came, Macron declared his side had "common values" with La France Insoumise of Mélenchon, but, weirdly, after Mélenchon became the lefts candidate for prime minister for the legislative elections of the same year, his ministers called Mélenchon a "Gaullist Chavez" and the project of the "Mélenchonist cartel" a "fiscal guillotine".[54] In 2022 and 2024, the party spent more time criticising the "immigrationist", "Islamo-leftist", and dangerous "far-left", while largely ignoring the far-right. In 2024, Macron claimed the program of the united left contained "completely ludicrous things" like allowing transgender people to "change sex in the town hall".

Protests against Macron[edit]

On 17 November 2018, the Yellow Vests (Gilets jaunes) protests began, protesting over high fuel tax, low minimum wage, and high living costs. On its first day of protests, one person was killed and over a hundred were injured.[55] The protests stopped in March 2020, with the emergence of Covid and bans of gatherings, though some did resume again in September when restrictions loosened. Since they began, 11 people have been killed and over 4,000 have been injured.

Some protests took place in Paris following his 2022 re-election.[56]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. In fairness, he did call out colonialism in a speech in Algeria. Still, this article here explains what's wrong with his statement.

References[edit]

  1. [1]
  2. [2]
  3. [3]
  4. JO de Paris 2024 - "On l'appelle la glue", "C'est un cauchemar", "Vous êtes obligés de gâcher ce moment?": la présence d'Emmanuel Macron au sacre de 200 m 4 nages de Léon Marchand exaspère les internautes
  5. France's Emmanuel Macron buffeted from all sides in row over secularism BBC News
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 http://theconversation.com/emmanuel-macron-is-already-showing-he-is-no-progressive-81200
  7. https://www.france24.com/en/20180925-france-bioethics-body-backs-medically-assisted-reproduction-all-women-lesbian-couples
  8. https://www.archynetys.com/business/emmanuel-macron-puts-the-bonus-penalty-on-the-table-to-fight-against-the-abuse-of-cdd/
  9. https://www.cgt.fr/actualites/france/situation-demploi-precarisee/les-reformes-du-droit-du-travail-au-motif-de-le-simplifier-le-font-disparaitre
  10. https://www.ladepeche.fr/2025/01/29/dossier-hausse-du-chomage-cette-ombre-sur-le-bilan-demmanuel-macron-12476068.php
  11. Emmanuel Macron plunges head-first into labor reform Politico
  12. 5 key points from Macron’s big labor reform Politico
  13. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-minimum-wage-eu-labour-european-commission-a8908761.html
  14. https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Maps/
  15. https://www.greenpeace.fr/ecologie-et-climat-le-bilan-catastrophe-de-macron/
  16. https://www.mediapart.fr/studio/panoramique/2017-2022-le-bilan-macron-au-scanner-de-mediapart
  17. https://www.lesechos.fr/politique-societe/politique/immigration-le-bilan-mitige-de-la-loi-collomb-1137824
  18. https://www.lopinion.fr/politique/loi-collomb-un-bilan-peu-reluisant-contraint-lexecutif-au-colmatage
  19. https://www.lexpress.fr/politique/immigration-le-rapport-qui-egratigne-la-politique-de-macron-et-de-darmanin-OUOUUFWUJNAEFKI6RJ3FQW67MY/
  20. https://www.mediapart.fr/studio/panoramique/2017-2022-le-bilan-macron-au-scanner-de-mediapart
  21. https://www.franceinfo.fr/faits-divers/police/violences-policieres/violences-policieres-comment-emmanuel-macron-a-fait-evoluer-son-discours-depuis-2017_5789399.html
  22. https://www.liberation.fr/societe/police-justice/non-emmanuel-macron-lusage-de-la-violence-par-les-forces-de-lordre-nest-pas-legitime-par-principe-20230424_MJ5R7O3LPFH6POMXDSIFMXTW7Y/
  23. https://www.bfmtv.com/politique/violences-policieres-les-multiples-changements-de-ton-d-emmanuel-macron-depuis-2017_AN-202109140335.html
  24. https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2024/01/27/la-loi-sur-l-immigration-promulguee-par-emmanuel-macron_6213271_3224.html#:~:text=Loi%2520%C2%AB%2520immigration%2520%C2%BB-,La%2520loi%2520%C2%AB%2520immigration%2520%C2%BB%2520promulgu%C3%A9e%2520par%2520Emmanuel%2520Macron,depuis%2520par%2520le%2520Conseil%2520constitutionnel.
  25. https://www.mediapart.fr/studio/panoramique/2017-2022-le-bilan-macron-au-scanner-de-mediapart
  26. https://www.mediapart.fr/studio/panoramique/2017-2022-le-bilan-macron-au-scanner-de-mediapart
  27. https://www.medecinsdumonde.org/tribune/politique-des-drogues-la-repression-en-france-un-chaos-sanitaire-et-social/
  28. https://www.bfmtv.com/politique/elysee/rendre-la-vie-impossible-aux-consommateurs-de-drogues-est-il-une-solution-pour-lutter-contre-le-trafic_AV-202403230051.html
  29. https://fr.news.yahoo.com/cannabis--alors-que-macron-renforce-repression-ils-proposent-depenalisation-151632048.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANZe70-YjE9-ZA0CYbu4812C3MAxi3ByIuMl1PdI_nxIPxihBuVEJNkjRrDIMt2QmhW3rY59N9WugWq0rd5JXfvdj-LCt-WPP5UdQ1SxLlqQcsTpbiPGTIoNeql5E0BbUxQCzl9CvZNhfLohjzemJHsmk0NMDzWBopWiEG9ehYlt
  30. https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2021/04/26/a-rebours-du-monde-entier-emmanuel-macron-rehabilite-l-archaisme-en-matiere-de-politique-des-drogues_6078124_3232.html
  31. https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2025/07/08/pauvrete-le-decevant-bilan-d-emmanuel-macron_6619893_3232.html
  32. https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2025/07/08/pauvrete-le-decevant-bilan-d-emmanuel-macron_6619893_3232.html
  33. https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/editos-analyses/macron-premier-vrai-bilan-2167432
  34. https://www.lexpress.fr/economie/politique-economique/derive-des-finances-publiques-le-bilan-accablant-de-la-presidence-macron-SU6XLS4GHNAYBOBDNHZF2QNN2A/
  35. https://www.lexpress.fr/economie/politique-economique/derive-des-finances-publiques-le-bilan-accablant-de-la-presidence-macron-SU6XLS4GHNAYBOBDNHZF2QNN2A/
  36. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zohiMb2-V6w
  37. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zohiMb2-V6w
  38. https://www.cgt.fr/actualites/france/situation-demploi-precarisee/les-reformes-du-droit-du-travail-au-motif-de-le-simplifier-le-font-disparaitre
  39. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2024/06/19/macron-accused-of-transphobia-over-criticism-of-left-wing-union-policy_6675177_5.html
  40. https://www.mediapart.fr/studio/panoramique/2017-2022-le-bilan-macron-au-scanner-de-mediapart
  41. https://www.ft.com/content/3d907582-b893-11e7-9bfb-4a9c83ffa852
  42. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/macrons-counter-terror-bill-risks-frances-human-rights-record-says-un
  43. https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/legislatives-2022-emmanuel-macron-perd-sa-majorite-face-a-la-nupes-et-percee-historique-du-rn-1660950
  44. https://fr.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/07/08/elections-legislatives-victoire-du-nfp-le-rn-3e-le-parlement-sans-majorite-et-dans-limpass
  45. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/02/macron-labor-reform-cgt-melenchon
  46. https://dictionnaire.orthodidacte.com/article/definition-macronie
  47. https://www.lesechos.fr/politique-societe/gouvernement/avec-michel-barnier-emmanuel-macron-nomme-un-premier-ministre-dont-le-sort-dependra-du-rn-2117227
  48. https://www.ouest-france.fr/politique/gabriel-attal/le-virage-economique-a-droite-demmanuel-macron-se-confirme-dans-lagenda-de-gabriel-attal-a6fd45f2-c8ec-11ee-bd89-65961cacb703
  49. https://www.franceinfo.fr/politique/emmanuel-macron/pour-que-la-france-reste-la-france-ces-mots-d-emmanuel-macron-lors-de-sa-conference-de-presse-qui-confirment-son-virage-a-droite_6307788.html
  50. https://www.boursorama.com/actualite-economique/actualites-amp/avec-la-loi-immigration-emmanuel-macron-confirme-son-virage-a-droite-5f27aaaa180941147f700197526c7f0e
  51. https://www.radioclassique.fr/politique/immigrationniste-en-utilisant-ce-terme-emmanuel-macron-fait-un-virage-radical-a-droite-explique-franz-olivier-giesbert/
  52. https://www.challenges.fr/politique/presidentielle-2022-emmanuel-macron-les-raisons-d-un-virage-a-gauche_793564
  53. https://www.liberation.fr/politique/elections/virage-a-droite-et-mirages-de-gauche-la-macronie-fait-le-bilan-20210227_2DXQJCWVDZF65G754OXNZUYAWE/
  54. https://www.franceinfo.fr/elections/legislatives/legislatives-2022-comment-le-camp-d-emmanuel-macron-a-change-de-ton-face-a-jean-luc-melenchon-depuis-l-entre-deux-tours_5187166.html
  55. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-fuel-tax-protests-1-dead-and-more-than-100-injured-2018-11-17/
  56. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/police-teargas-paris-protestors-after-macron-re-elected-2022-04-24/