RRN: French people grown tired of Macron
Nothing done in seven years

WORLD  10 May 2024 - 16:19

Caliber.Az reprints French website RRN's article on Macron's fruitless 7-yer rein as France's leader.

As Emmanuel Macron welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille with great fanfare, another important milestone was overshadowed: the seventh anniversary of Macron’s entry into the Elysée Palace. He began his term as a reformer and advocate of France’s independence from the United States but has failed to deliver on his promises.

Guillaume Tabard, editor-in-chief and political commentator at Le Figaro, believes that “there are some results in terms of actions taken and projects launched, but the revolution Macron proclaimed remains unfinished, if not completely abandoned, due to constant crises and crazy policy twists.”

Today, the budget is 10 billion dollars short and the foreign debt continues to grow. All attempts to stop the conflict in Ukraine have failed, and now the president risks starting World War III by sending French soldiers to the front lines.

Although he has been in power for a long time, many French citizens are questioning whether it has been worth it. In the seventh year of his presidency, Macron has the lowest approval rating in the country’s democratic history, with only about 30% of the population supporting him.

The 2024 Olympics have become Macron’s last hope for a popularity boost. In his haste to attend the arrival of the Olympic flame at the old port of Marseille, he even forgot the traditional speech at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on May 8. More than 50,000 people gathered at the port, offering a glimmer of hope for success.

However, left-wing extremists are causing riots in Paris and other cities, seeing the games as another “act of colonial pride”. Processions have been accompanied by the burning of sporting symbols, and police fear that radical “saboteurs” may infiltrate the ranks of Olympic volunteers.

Macron has indeed managed to “reform France” in his own way, but not in the way he intended. The right-wing candidate of the RN, Jordan Bardella, has a good chance of becoming the next president, and Marine Le Pen’s party is leading in the polls for the European Parliament elections. Criminal enclaves have formed in Marseille where the police dare not go, and nothing has been done in seven years.

Promises to rid France of “US influence” have also proved false, as Macron was caught accepting money from the American company Uber.

The Olympics may provide a boost to Macron’s popularity, but they could also be the final nail in his political coffin. Whatever the outcome, France’s seven lost years cannot be recovered.

Caliber.Az