How centrism collapsed in France
A tricolor flag flutters in the wind under a slightly overcast sky, on the front page of the June 29 edition of The Economist. But if you look a little closer, you will see that the white central strip has disappeared. The empty space thus reveals a cloud in the background. “The center is doomed to fall”, headlines the British magazine.
The Economist has never hidden his admiration for Emmanuel Macron. According to him, the President of the Republic has carried out a series of necessary reforms that have produced the expected effect on the economy – lower unemployment, an ecosystem favorable to investments, lower taxes, etc. The beginning of the summer even looked bright with the organization of the Olympic Games in a capital “connected again”.
But the disappointment of his party in the European elections and the “headbutt” what was the dissolution of the National Assembly threaten to undo seven years of work to reform the country. “One might have thought that voters would reward him at the ballot box for this record. But the Macronist alliance Ensemble is preparing to suffer a real humiliation on June 30: one observer estimates its chances of forming a majority at… 0%.”
According to the polls, the National Rally and the New Popular Front are expected to emerge as the two dominant forces in the political landscape, leaving the centre in the abyss.
Fell into his own trap
For the weekly, the forces of the left and the right have above all conceived their programs as an unraveling of the Macronist work: repeal of the pension reformreturn of the wealth solidarity tax (ISF), cancellation of the increase in energy prices, etc.
Ultimately, Emmanuel Macron fell into his own trap above all. “If he did not know how to speak better to the French, it is in particular because he chose to build a Jupiterian presidency. Macron was convinced of uniting the country behind the power of office – on the contrary, he appears as an arrogant and disconnected leader. the magazine claims.
“Another of his mistakes was not allowing any opposition to exist in the center. However, in democracy, as we know, voters always end up wanting to oust the incumbents. And when that happens, they seek change. In France, as elsewhere, this radical change could cause serious damage.”
