On May 7, 2017, Emmanuel Macron became President of the Republic following the presidential election. Five years later, on the same date, the ceremony of his inauguration for a second term took place at the Elysée. During his speech, he promised “a more lively and stronger France” and made “the oath to bequeath a more livable planet”, as transcribed on the Official Journal website.
Thus, for this double anniversary, the president published a handwritten letter on his social networks on May 7, 2023. He then returns to the support of his voters before the commemoration ceremony of May 8 which he chaired Place de l’Etoile, in Paris. These events took place in a context of crisis and tension.
For the past few months, the French and the unions have been mobilizing against the pension reform. Several demonstrations and strike days have been organized to express their anger at the government’s decisions. The latest, which took place on May 1, brought together 782,000 people according to the Ministry of the Interior, and 2.3 million French people according to figures from the CGT. A new day was then announced and will take place on June 6, according to information collected by BFMTV.
This anger of the unions seems to illustrate that of the French. Indeed, according to the survey carried out by RTL with the BVA institute, the popularity of the president would be at its lowest. It arrives at the same level as at the time of the Yellow Vests crisis in 2018. Indeed, it only obtains 26% of good opinions in 2023. Conversely, 63% of French people want to continue the mobilizations, whether they participate or not. The results of the six years of presidency therefore do not seem positive for Emmanuel Macron. How does he approach it?
If the polls do not seem in favor of Emmanuel Macron, the elected representatives of the Renaissance party evoke “concrete […] results”, as announced by Frank Riester, Minister Delegate in charge of Relations with Parliament.
But he is not the only minister who reacted to the anniversary of Emmanuel Macron’s election. Indeed, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also welcomed the results of the past six years. Thus, she evoked the pride of the “road traveled and the progress made” in a Twitter post. These messages of support for the president were published hours before the president presented his letter on his Twitter account. This is intended for his voters, but also for all French people, according to him.
Sunday May 7 at 6 p.m., it’s Emmanuel Macron’s turn to look back on his six-year term. He then thanked his supporters in a handwritten letter posted on his Twitter account. “Thank you to all my compatriots, who, six years ago, trusted me for the first time,” he begins by saying.
“Since the first moment of these six years I have been trying, with the responsibility that is mine and in the function that you have entrusted to me, to work in the service of all French people, of our children and of the general interest. Count on all my commitment and determination,” he concluded.
The next day, Emmanuel Macron paraded without an audience on the Champs-Elysées after the ban on gatherings, as reported by La Dépêche. Tensions therefore do not seem to have completely eased.
