Lame duck? France's Macron after pension reform
Issued on:
Play - 46:46
What do the French want – a leader who respects the will of the people, or one that gets things done? In his prime time address on Monday, the term-limited Emmanuel Macron acknowledged how deeply unpopular his pension reform is. But now that it has been railroaded through parliament, validated by the courts and enacted by the president, he again assured it was for the best and that it's time to move on to the rest of his laundry list of reforms.
The nearly two thirds of French citizens who oppose raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 say they are not ready to turn the page. On the left, unions are calling for a mass turnout in May 1 Labour Day marches.
Vying for the same working-class voters who feel the French welfare state has betrayed them again is the far right, which happens to boast the largest opposition voting bloc in parliament. Its message is not "see you in the street" but "see you at the polls".
Only time will tell if Macron and his followers rebound from yet another crisis. Back in 2017, he won the presidency with no party to back him and without having ever run for elected office before. He then bounced back from the Yellow Vest protests, Covid and the spillover effect of the war in Ukraine to win re-election. A Midas touch, if you imagine Midas as a technocrat by training who even when he loses – his party failed to garner an outright majority in last year's legislative elections – still manages to get his way. What does that say about Macron and French politics?
Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Daphné Leprince-Ringuet and Imen Mellaz.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe