Emmanuel Macron He is the most unpopular president in the history of France, with barely a 23% acceptance by its citizens. An unpopularity that It is no longer just an internal problem.
The political instability that has marked France since the president decided to dissolve the National Assembly in the summer of 2024, just a few weeks before the Olympic Games, generated great distrust outside the country about his leadership capacity. His arrival at the Elysée Palace in 2017 created great expectations. Macron presented himself as a politician who broke all schemes; the youngest president with new ideas and the ambition to once again put France at the top of the international scene.
However, his project devolve ‘greatness’ France has been losing strength over time, starting with the slow death of ‘Francafrique’; In 2020, France lost in Mali, in 2022 in Burkina Faso, and in 2023 in Niger, when it withdrew its troops after a series of coups d’état, which have resulted in governments opposed to the presence of the former metropolis. Another of his failed projects was the management of the migrant crisis in the English Channelwhere France ended up signing an agreement with the United Kingdom, which many analysts consider unfavorable for France. More recently, Macron also failed to muster enough support among European countries to stop the free trade agreement. Mercosur.
The ukrainian war It came as an opportunity for the French president to raise popularity ratings and demonstrate his skills. of leadership. During the first months of conflict, his role as mediator He managed to convince part of the electorate, generating a “flag effect”, but as the war has progressed and the country’s internal problems have worsened, the French have once again questioned his management capacity. “He dedicates more time to other countries than his own,” says François, a resident of the 17th arrondissement of Paris.
Income and purchasing power
A criticism that part of the citizenry supports, especially in the face of reports such as the one published in 2023 by the French National Statistics Institute, which shows the highest poverty rate in the country for 30 years, with around 10 million people below 60% of the average monthly income (1,288 euros). The loss of purchasing power of the French and the increase in insecurity and health problems in their streets has caused the president’s unpopularity to grow behind closed doors.
Paradoxically, at the European level, Emmanuel Macron is the most popular leader in the European Union with 46% positive opinions among citizenssurpassing other leaders such as Georgia Meloni with 42% or Pedro Sánchez with 33%, according to a survey published by Euractiv. European leaders positively value his intention to lead summits in order to seek a consensus on the great challenges that the old continent faces, from energy security, or tariff threats to common defense.
