Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron Facts and Information

Important Points

• Macron is a center left Frenchman who is known for his business savviness and poise.
• He recently defeated populist candidate Marine Le Pen, who stood as a very extreme alternative to European tradition.
• He has high visions for France, looking to cut back on entitlement programs (yikes!) and reform the European Union.
• His approval ratings have dropped steadily as criticism for his Europhilic and pro-business views.
• He is also incredibly unproven, as this is his first run at elected office

The Rundown

Macaron, macaroon, Macron?! Our main man Emmanuel Macron comes from a well-to-do family, with his father Jean-Michel Macron being a physician, as well as his mother Francoise working as a neurologist. Unfortunately, his parents divorced when he was young, but that didn’t stunt his ambition one bit. Because of Macron’s minimal experience in public office, his first few months as President have been analyzed closely by both his critics and his constituents. So far, so good! He’s been very professional, fearless, and ambitious. His international savviness shows in his composure on the world stage with prominent figures such as Angela Merkel and Donald Trump. He has been called the French Obama, advocating for international diplomacy and coordination. His movement/party “Republique En Marche” has taken the world by storm, introducing a wave of new policy implementation into a stereotypically stable (boring) France.

Emmanuel Macron is the new man on the scene in the political battleground. A native of Amiens, the Frenchman has been pinned as a statement of intent to discourage the entourage of populist and nationalist movements overtaking the 21st century. In a tightly woven race between Macron and Marine Le Pen that gathered global attention, Macron won the French election with 66% of the vote after all other candidates besides Le Pen were eliminated. Macron had never won an elected office prior to his presidential run; he was formerly a minister of economy and finance of France, as well as an investment banker for Rothschild and Cie Banque. His charm and very likable personality made him an ideal candidate for his position, and his progressive views only look to further a leftist agenda.

Macron has come under fire for his unrelenting policy he introduced in his campaign; he brought up the idea of eliminating some of France’s “gimme” programs, which essentially equate to a lesser version of America’s welfare programs. In fact, Macron has set his eyes on an international arena, even premiering in a video with heavily celebrated former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, branding a message of global cooperation in both diplomatic and environmental efforts. Their slogan, “make the planet great again,” was a bit of a subtle lash at Donald Trump’s signature mantra “make America great again.” Macron’s worldly ambitions represent a much broader view for France, with globalization and the strengthening of the EU among his goals. He aims to make France the respected world power it deserves to be.

Macron’s reputation and history as an investment banker and a minister of economy and finance make him a very attractive candidate for a country whose unemployment rate ranked at 9.5% in the month preceding his election as President. The French people are an incredibly cultured group who have fallen under the standard set by the other members of the OECD. Macron’s dependability and modern political and economic views set him apart from the rest of his competition.

However, a large part in how he won was because of who he was running against in his Runoff, which is basically the last round of voting. Marine Le Pen was the only other viable candidate, and she represented goals of intolerance, extreme nationalism, and isolationism. She was essentially a female version of our orange executive, Donald Trump. Her radical views on deportation and religious persecution created too much of a rift in the voting pool for her to have any type of a chance. Macron to some is essentially what Trump was to some Americans, in that “well I’m sure not voting for Hillary!” Except that in that case, the far right candidate WAS elected. Funny how the world works, isn’t it?

His importance in a global context is much more his election as opposed to his actual policy. France was stuck between a centric leader in Macron, or a far-right populist leader in Marine Le Pen. There was no middle, and it put the French people on the spot. In recent times, populism and nationalism have overtaken the globalist values that Macron preaches, and what has been the goal of the EU since its conception. If Le Pen had been elected, it would have compounded with the election of Donald Trump to truly set forward a new world politically and socially. However, the globalist dreams are still alive! Both Macron and Merkel will be working their asses off to keep the European Union alive, with talks of forming a joint military coming to light. Macron is pushing very hard to strengthen the EU, which could go as far as to assemble an EU Defense Force. It slightly resembles the African Union Defense Force, although there will obviously be some stark differences in funding and technology! Assembling a coalition of military personnel could prove to be a deterrent from Russian forces slowly moving in from the east. It’s an interesting development, and certainly one to watch for the future of both Europe and Asia.

Emmanuel Macron truly is the man to watch on the European front. He’s making big waves in the EU, looks to set his stricter (but still fair) immigration policy to work, and he even stood up to THE Vladimir Putin of Russia, calling him out for homosexual persecution inside Russian borders after France took in a gay man from Chechnya who fled the country. And Putin agreed! If you can make a man like Putin see your way of things, you’ve got something special going for you. Perhaps no more surrendering on his watch?