Macron thought the French wanted a reincarnation of De Gaulle. He has said that the French still feel the absence of the king, and has spoken [] almost wistfully of a doctrine of “democratic heroism” in which the leader incarnates the spirit of the people. He has sought to find that space between technocrat and monarch; one can only observe that so far, the French have not been persuaded by the technocrat or seduced by the monarch. The French regard him as an elitist who carries out policies that benefit the elite at the expense of the squeezed middle class. They repudiate both his manner and his views, which stipulate that France must encourage investment by diminishing the regulatory and tax burden on companies and on the rich.
Macron will not change his policies. One wonders how far he is willing or able to recast his political persona, or how hard he will be pushed to do so. Dominique David, an En Marche legislator from Bordeaux, told me that the president needed to change not his manner but his “method.” She was thinking of the vow he made earlier this week to conduct a grassroots national debate on the “ecological and social transition” to renewable energy. In any case, Macron’s supporters believe that he ushered in a new model of consultation with the local discussion forums he established during the presidential campaign. David also believes that Macron will address the problem of “representativity” with a series of proposed constitutional reforms that would open seats to smaller parties and prevent politicians from holding several elective jobs at once. In short, one should not expect a Macron 2.0 to emerge from his trials.
Macron is hardly the “ultra-liberal” his critics make him out to be.
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