Already weakened since the beginning of his mandate, the confidence of the French in the head of state and his government is withering as the weeks go by. Since January, the revolt has been mounting against an unpopular and controversial pension reform, but also the methods put in place by the executive. The French, like the opposition, are thus rejecting en masse debate times that have not been respected, announcements such as the raising of the legal retirement age, but also the abolition of special regimes or the increase in the duration of insurance. With the forced adoption of this reform without a majority vote of the National Assembly, the rag burns a little more every day. In what position is the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, currently?
Since his first term, Emmanuel Macron has made no secret of wanting to reform the pension system in depth. He even made it his main battle horse when seeking a second five-year term at the Elysée. After the Covid crisis and while inflation is eating away at the purchasing power of the French, the year 2023 has therefore opened with the presentation of the text of the pension reform by the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne. With measures announced such as a lowering of the retirement age from 62 to 64, an increase in the contribution period, but also the abolition of special schemes, the French immediately mobilized against the harshness of these decisions.
From days of mobilization to heated debates in the National Assembly, the text could not be voted on in the Hemicycle, despite support from the Senate. To have this difficult pension reform adopted, Elisabeth Borne therefore engaged the responsibility of her government thanks to article 49.3. A shock decision for the French, who continue to demonstrate firmly by asking for the withdrawal of the text. For his part, Emmanuel Macron is struggling to convince his compatriots, who point to a contemptuous attitude on the part of the Head of State and an impossibility to understand the current issues of the French.
A week after the interview, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, continues to make the French particularly skeptical. According to a study reported by FranceInfo, an Odoxa barometer for Public Senate and the regional press, only 30% of those questioned believe that Emmanuel Macron is a “good President of the Republic”. The figure therefore shows a decline of six points compared to the previous month.
A second poll, carried out by BVA for RTL, reveals a figure of only 28% of respondents with a positive opinion of the President of the Republic. While several members of the government, including Elisabeth Borne and Olivier Véran, are communicating about an openness to negotiations and future discussions with the unions, the situation looks more than ever very difficult.
At the heart of this turmoil, the President of the Republic will have to decide and position himself for the long term. While he has displayed total inflexibility since the start of the crisis, the historian and president of the Parliamentary and Political History Committee, Jean Garrigues, thinks that Emmanuel Macron will not be able to back down from his positions. As he explains to Capital, the president “got himself into a trap by his intransigence and the few concessions made to the opposition”.
Still according to specialist Jean Garrigues, “there is a high probability that the outstretched hand strategy will fail because the link has been broken”. It must be said that the anger of the unions and the French has reached such a degree that “if there is not a strong gesture from Emmanuel Macron to attest to a reconnection with public opinion, [things risk d be complicated] for the rest of the quinquennium”. The reactions of Emmanuel Macron will therefore be particularly scrutinized in the coming days.