Emmanuel Macron and France’s ‘Frozen’ Politics
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| Author | Emiliano Grossman |
| DOI | 10.1177/20419058211045128 |
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
12 POLITICAL INSIGHT • SEPTEMBER 2021
On Saturday, 24 July 2021,
more than 160,000 people
across France gathered to
protest against new measures
intended to encourage take-up of COVID
vaccinations. The new restrictions limited
access to restaurants, transport and
concert halls, to people with a vaccination
certificate. The measures succeeded in
creating a rush at vaccination centres but
have also led to more critical reactions.
Echoing the ‘yellow-vest’ demonstrations
that crippled France in late 2018 and
early 2019, demonstrators denounced
President Emmanuel Macron, accusing his
government of implementing authoritarian
policies.
Such public displays of discontent provide
the backdrop for next year’s presidential
electoral campaign and elections. The 2017
election – which saw Macron sweep to
power – profoundly disrupted the French
party system. Now polls suggest that next
April’s contest will deliver the same two run-
o candidates as last time out: Macron and
far-right leader, Marine Le Pen. The historical
government parties; the Gaullist right and the
Socialist Party, have not yet recovered. The far
left, France Insoumise, and EELV, the Green
party, do not look like credible contenders
at the moment. Le Pen’s Rassemblement
National remains the main opposition party.
So how has the global pandemic aected
French politics in general and Macron’s
re-election chances specically? In fact,
its eect does not appear to be univocal
– in France, as in other countries, COVID
appears to have led to a ‘freezing’ of political
competition. This has been favourable to
the incumbent government, despite some
dissatisfaction with the management of the
crisis. The outcome of the 2022 presidential
Emmanuel
Macron and
France’s
‘Frozen’
Politics
France’s President has faced protests and government gridlock, but
the COVID pandemic has bolstered Emmanuel Macron’s popularity
and left him the favourite to retain power in next April’s election,
argues Emiliano Grossman.
election will depend on the speed of the
‘unfreezing’ induced by the potential end of
the pandemic.
The status quo before the
pandemic
A newcomer to politics in 2012, Emmanuel
Macron rose to the top of the French state
in barely five years. A former banker and
senior civil servant, he was named Deputy
Secretary-General of the presidency by
François Hollande after the Socialists’ 2012
victory. Macron left this position in 2014
but was called back a few months later to
become the youngest Minister of Finance
in 50 years. His popularity increased rapidly,
leading him to create his own political
movement, En Marche, in February 2016.
Facing growing tensions with Prime
Minister Manuel Valls, he resigned from
government in August 2016, making his
presidential bid explicit and thus breaking
with President Hollande. Macron’s message
of ‘change’ and entrepreneurship was
particularly attractive to young voters, but
also to a large faction of centre-left voters
of all ages. Over time, he has moved to
© 360b / Alamy Stock Photo
Political Insight September 2021.indd 12Political Insight September 2021.indd 12 16/08/2021 15:2316/08/2021 15:23
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