French President Emmanuel Macron has disappeared from the public sphere
Photo: REUTERS.
In the midst of the parliamentary election campaign, French President Emmanuel Macron has virtually abandoned the public sphere. Immediately after the announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly, the Elysée Palace planned something completely different: Macron was to appear on television with opening speeches at least three times a week. According to a party official, the French leader “underestimated the degree of rejection that his person provokes among the public.” In June, Macron’s already low approval rating among the French fell another five points to 26%.
As a result, given the toxicity of their leader’s figure, the Macronists insisted that the president not show too much during the electoral race. Instead, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal became the face of the campaign.
Macron does not appear on his bloc’s election posters, and several of his supporters directly disavow him, saying that a “demacronisation” is necessary.
The Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Bechoux, in response to a question on TF1 about Macron’s absence from the election posters, acknowledged the “wear and tear” of the presidential figure: “There is a wear and tear. The wear and tear is aggravated by the fact that this is the president’s second term in office.”
Before the election, it was repeatedly reported that Macron had become a burden on his own party. Ipsos analyst Mathieu Gallard warned on 12 June: “If the president intervenes, he will mobilise voters against himself.” According to Gallard, Macron has completely lost the positive aura he had in 2017 and cannot explain where he is leading France.
As a result, influential supporters were able to sideline their leader during the election. “He was ordered to stop the election campaign… He not only listened to our message, but was forced to listen to it,” admits a representative of Makron’s Revival party.
What is the president doing now? While remaining in the shadows, Macron and his advisers are calculating possible election results and preparing for the next battle: governing France after an almost certain defeat in the second round, several sources told Politico.
The French president may have to “cohabit” with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, which is leading these elections, or join forces with the left-wing bloc.
How long will Macron stay away from the cameras? On Sunday evening, as soon as the scale of the “political catastrophe” becomes clear to him, he will have to come out again and move on to choosing a new prime minister, which could take several weeks.
“He will take on the role of guarantor of French institutions,” one of the president’s supporters reveals the plans. If the far right wins an absolute majority, Macron will have to nominate the leader of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, as prime minister. Otherwise, the president could find himself involved in lengthy coalition negotiations.
READ ALSO
Macron made a fatal mistake: later, even his allies and party colleagues betrayed the French president.
Politician: Macron has lost touch with reality and has become a burden on his party (more)
