Lucie de Perthuis, edited by Julia Solans / Photo credit: Daniel Cole / POOL / AFP
Emmanuel Macron celebrates his 1 year of re-election this Monday, April 24 in a tense national atmosphere. For 3 out of 4 French people, this birthday date is far from pleasant. At the microphone of Europe 1, citizens express their dissatisfaction with the Head of State and his decision-making, starting with the pension reform.
On April 24, 2022, he was ahead of Marine Le Pen with just over 58% of the vote. A year later, it’s not the time to celebrate for many French people. Three out of four of them are unhappy with the action of Emmanuel Macron, a figure much higher than last month. The head of state’s popularity rating is plummeting and has never been so low. The pension reform is mainly responsible for this result. The personality of the president is also strongly criticized.
A president with a “contrasted” image
“Very disappointed with his year and the way the pension reform went. This contempt he may have towards people seems to be quite natural with him”, denounces a passerby. “He is not in reality, he is in his own world and not in ours. And these are two totally different worlds”, adds another while a citizen describes him as “convinced of being right even to be alone”. Regaining the confidence of the French seems to be a difficult task for the President of the Republic.
Since the adoption of the pension reform, Emmanuel Macron has been traveling on the ground to meet the population. But the road still seems long for a reconciliation with the French. Bruno Cautrès, political scientist and researcher associated with CEVIPOF, evokes “contrasting images” of the Head of State during these trips. On the one hand a president who is “in the vicinity, who drops his jacket and rolls up his sleeves” then on the other “concerts of pans and images of banners which are always there”.
At the moment, a turnaround in popularity seems next to impossible. Nevertheless, the Macronist base remains on the whole loyal to the tenant of the Élysée since 75% of its voters in the first round say they are satisfied after one year in office, as well as 40% of the voters of Valérie Pécresse.