On April 24, 2022 local time, French President Emmanuel Tookron delivered a winning speech in Place mars in Paris. Image according to Visual China
According to CCTV news, at 20:00 local time on April 24, the second round of voting in the French presidential election ended. The results of the earliest export polls released by the French media show that macron, the current president and candidate of the Republican Forward Party, won the election with more than half of the vote, at 58.2%. Macron became the second French president to succeed Chirac in his second term. In addition, the "National Union" candidate Le Pen received 41.8% of the vote. This is the second time she has played against Macron in the second round after she reached the second round of the 2017 election. On the evening of the 24th local time, Macron delivered a victory speech in paris in the Champ de Mars.
Winning Magic Weapon:
Russia-Ukraine conflict and COVID-19 efforts
Bruno, a political analyst, believes that Macron has benefited from the "flag gathering effect" (meaning that the domestic support of national leaders usually grows rapidly in the face of major national and ethnic crises involving foreign countries), and that his efforts in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and response to the new crown epidemic have won the approval of a large number of voters.
Bruno believes voters recognize Macron's diplomatic efforts in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Macron has reportedly been actively mediating between Russia and Ukraine. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, he repeatedly spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin in an attempt to ease the crisis. Despite the lack of substantive results, Macron's move was endorsed by many French voters.
Bruno also believes that Macron's "no matter the cost" approach to the new crown epidemic has also allowed voters to see that as president, he is really managing the crisis. According to previous reports, after the outbreak of the global new crown epidemic, in March 2020, Macron announced that France had entered a "wartime state of the epidemic" and grounded the country. With the outbreak under control in April, the French government announced that the ban would be gradually lifted on May 11. At the end of August, the number of confirmed cases and hospitalizations in France gradually increased, and by October it entered the peak of the second wave of the epidemic. From October 30, the government once again launched a national lockdown policy, prohibiting non-essential travel for residents, restricting cross-regional travel, and closing restaurants, bars and shopping malls. During the "grounding" period, there were demonstrations against "health authoritarian measures" in Paris and other cities, and most of the practitioners of catering and entertainment also opposed the "fasting" policy. French media have reported that the epidemic has dealt a serious blow to the French economy, and Macron is facing the most severe challenge since he came to power. However, a series of mandatory epidemic prevention measures by the French government have proved to be very effective. According to reports, a research report provided by French epidemic prevention experts shows that a single "foot ban" can avoid 590,000 French people from being hospitalized and 140,000 confirmed cases from turning into severe patients. Once a "ban" is taken, the outbreak in France will be significantly controlled after two to three weeks.
French President Emmanuel Lac, together with his wife, Brigitte, delivered a victory speech in Mars Square. Image according to Visual China
Still dissatisfied:
An indifferent leader who is considered "elitist"
Although Macron has demonstrated his leadership as president in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, it has not satisfied all voters. According to reports, on April 16, local time in Paris, France, demonstrators took to the streets against two presidential candidates, one of the most popular slogans was "Neither Macron nor Le Pen."
Some voters said they were disappointed in Macron, believing that France was "dysfunctional" during macron's administration. Pascal, a voter 56, said: "Frankly, I am very disappointed. I don't think France has developed in recent years. Macron has done nothing for the middle class, which has also made the gap between rich and poor in France getting wider and wider. ”
Laurent, a French voter, believes that Macron is an "indifferent" "elitist" leader who "turns a deaf ear" to the discontent of the general public. "He (Macron) manages France like a business," he said. In a way, there is nothing wrong with such an approach, but I think he should take into account social factors more, because he manages living people rather than commodities. Foreign media have also previously analyzed that Macron has behaved "too presidently" and believes that the strategy he has adopted makes him behave like a "global crisis manager" on a high level, rather than a French president who "needs to be elected by French voters".
The "Reference News" network has excerpted the French media's evaluation of Macron's five years in office, saying that Macron believes that he is eager to make changes, and this desire is sometimes the root of his mistakes, especially his impromptu speeches to the public. These speeches cast a reputation for his arrogance and lack of sensitivity. Macron once told an unemployed gardener, "I can help you find a job by crossing a road," and accused opponents of his labor market reforms as "slackers."
In addition, Macron was also known as the "president of the rich" for "cutting taxes for the rich". According to the overseas network reported in 2019, the French government abolished the "rich tax" in 2018 and replaced it with the "real estate tax" (IFI), hoping to retain the funds of the wealthy class in France. When protesters advocated the reintroduction of the "rich tax", Macron said he refused to discuss it again. Veteran commentator Nikolai once commented: "We not only have a 'rich president', but also a president who is contemptuous and arrogant. Everyone we interviewed mentioned it, and it was like he had been branded with a soldering iron. ”
Difficult tenure:
Reform plans are likely to be hampered
Foreign media have pointed out that if Macron is re-elected, he will face a "difficult term", and his series of "reform plans" will be resisted, especially in the fields of retirement and pension reform. Communications expert Philippe also said that macron's greater challenge in the future is his reform at home. According to reports, macron's previously announced re-election platform shows that its plan for the next five years focuses on investment, economic and social system reform, and tax cuts, and all the measures in the platform are expected to cost 50 billion euros per year, and these expenses will be filled by the income brought about by French economic growth, the retirement system and unemployment insurance reform, and the savings of local government agencies.
According to reports, France is currently adopting a public pension system based on the pay-as-you-go financing model, that is, using the working population to support the retired population, so it is extremely sensitive to demographic changes. According to the French Statistical Office, in 2020, the population aged 65 and over will account for 20.5% of the total population in France, which means that for every 2.1 French employed people, they will have to support one retiree. Meanwhile, the French government's pension deficit has climbed to €18 billion in 2020, or about 0.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Macron plans to extend the reform tentacles to retirement and pensions once again, proposing to postpone the retirement age of the French people from the current 62 to 65. But he also said he would raise the country's minimum pension to 1,100 euros a month.
In addition, Macron has also said that if re-elected, he will expand defense spending, support the development of the electric vehicle and battery industry chain, promote the development of renewable energy and nuclear energy, and increase agricultural investment. Some experts have analyzed that France wants to develop renewable energy and nuclear energy is its long-term thinking, and Macron now mentions this policy and strengthens the position of nuclear energy, mainly affected by the situation in Ukraine, hoping to strengthen France's energy security.
Red Star News reporter Fan Xu Intern reporter Li Jinrui
Edited by Pan Li
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