Macron promised voters in his victory speech,
will be the "president of all",
Building a more independent France.
Author: Zheng Aotian
Editor: Feng Lu
Editor: Rui Su Lingyun
France is about to usher in the "Macron 2.0" era!
Macron, who delivered his winning speech.
At 8 p.m. Paris time on April 25, the second round of voting in the French presidential election ended. According to export polls released by the French media, the current president, Emmanuel Macron, received 58.2% of the vote, and the far-right candidate Marie Le Pen received 41.8%. Macron won by a clear margin and became the second French president to be re-elected since Chirac.
"We will build a more independent France!" A stronger Europe! Macron promised voters in his victory speech. He also said he would be "president of all" and stressed the need to find and address the sources of anger and discontent among far-right supporters, "which is my responsibility with those around me."
Meanwhile, in the face of disappointed supporters, the defeated Marie Le Pen questioned Macron in her speech: "Will turn a blind eye to divisions within the country" Although this is her third unsuccessful candidacy, Le Pen still said that he will continue to "fight for France" and will lead the "National Alliance" in the upcoming French legislative elections.
Le Pen, who spoke after the defeat.
Macron's victory has pleased the French public, which opposes the far right. Some commentators pointed out that Macron's successful re-election not only made France a survivor of the wave of populism in the West again, but also made the European Union, which has been hit hard by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, feel that it has "escaped the disaster".
Little Ma Ge desperately changed the "painting style"
Macron and Le Pen, who are vying for the French presidency, are old faces in French politics. In order to overcome the voters' "five-year itch" for himself, Macron did everything in his power to "change the style of painting".
On April 17, Macron's royal photographer Moisson Nie exposed a set of "behind-the-scenes footage" from Macron's campaign on social platforms. In one photo, Macron, sitting on the couch "laughing openly," shows the photographer the thick chest hair on his chest.
The photograph soon spread widely among the French netizens. Some netizens marveled at Macron's thick chest hair so thick that he could "almost fill a mattress." Some netizens joked: "This proves that Macron can do whatever it takes to win." There are even American stand-up comedians who dress up as "copycat Macron" and "show their hearts" to French voters on his behalf.
American talk show actor Jimmy Fallon, who dressed up as "Macron" on the show.
This isn't the first time Macron has "changed the style" to get voters' attention. In another set of "PR photos", Macron, who is working, wears a loose sweatshirt and jeans, has a beard and a tired face, like a "code farmer" who is working overtime. Its image contrasts sharply with the glittering Elysee Palace in the background.
Macron wears a sweatshirt.
The British "Daily Mail" believes that Macron is imitating the "wartime dress" of Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, the purpose of which is to narrow the distance with the voters at the same time, to convey to the public that he is exhausted for the sake of state affairs, and can only be informal in dress.
In this election, Macron's behavior of "changing the style of painting" soon became the talk of The French voters after dinner. Although many netizens did not take the signal conveyed in Macron's photo seriously, Macron still won the attention of French voters, especially young voters, with this trick.
Macron's work photos.
For Macron, changing his political image is not as simple as changing clothes. When he ran in 2017, Macron had been known as a "philosopher", which earned him the nickname "Jupiter" (the main god in Roman mythology who rules the gods) in French politics.
But five years after the launch of "Macron 1.0", the French worship of the "Jupiter" gradually faded. Macron launched a series of policies such as raising fuel taxes, abolishing the super-rich tax, and promoting pension reform during his tenure, which eventually led to a nationwide "yellow vest" demonstration, which lasted for nearly three years.
Voter dissatisfaction with Macron's administration has allowed Le Pen, an advocate of right-wing populism, to take advantage of the situation. Her far-right party, the National Alliance, has also gradually infiltrated the western French coastal metropolitan agglomeration, which was originally Macron's big ticket warehouse.
In the general election, Macron has always had an advantage in the polls. In order to prevent Le Pen from being elected like Trump, Macron did not dare to slack off in the campaign and tried his best to create a pro-people image. In addition to changing his attire, he personally traveled to cafes and town squares across France, got up close and personal with voters, and even went deep into marseille, the home base of the Le Pen family, to solicit votes.
Zhao Yongsheng, a researcher at the National Institute of Openness to the Outside World at the University of International Business and Economics and director of the French Economic Research Center, said in an interview with Global People that Marseille, as a major port city in southern France, is a passageway for many North African immigrants to enter France. Le Pen's far-right party, the National Alliance, took advantage of the contradiction between native French residents and immigrants to win a large number of working-class votes.
Le Pen took advantage of social dissatisfaction with Macron's administration to broaden the party's voter base, but it was still unable to defeat Macron in the general election. Zhao Yongsheng believes that this shows that most French voters still recognize Macron's performance in power.
Le Pen casts his ballot at a polling station on April 10. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)
Zhao Yongsheng stressed that unlike in the United States, French voters are very concerned about the candidate's government work experience. The vast majority of French presidents have held senior positions such as government ministers. The current president, who served as minister of the economy, has a clear advantage over Le Bon, who has always been a populist politician. This was vividly reflected in the election debate: on economic issues, Macron was at his fingertips about France's economic data and cases, while Le Pen could only come up with a series of abstract policy slogans.
At the same time, Zhao Yongsheng also believes that although In recent years, Le Pen has tried his best to reduce the ultra-right color of the "National Alliance", and even did not hesitate to break with his father, who founded the party. But the non-mainstream status of the "National Alliance" in French politics has not changed. Most French voters are politically opposed, but there is a consensus on opposing the far right to come to power.
After Macron and Le Pen entered the second round of voting, many French voters complained that it was for them to "choose between plague and cholera". But under the guidance of left-wing candidates, many Frenchmen chose "the lesser of two evils" and voted for Macron, or at least not for Le Pen. This made the election another "anti-Le Pen alliance" formed by the French left-center-right wing, and became one of the decisive factors in Macron's defeat of Le Pen.
In this case, Macron, in the name of "centrism" and pragmatism, has once again become the "greatest common denominator" in French politics. This result has thwarted France's far-right forces and relieved EU leaders who are watching with bated breath.
Eu "relieved"
After Macron's election, EU officials and European leaders sent congratulatory messages. Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told the media with relief: "[The EU] can rely on France for another five years." European Parliament President Metzola announced that he looks forward to working with Macron to tackle the challenges posed by today's increasingly uncertain world.
As the representative of France's far-right politicians, Le Pen is extremely opposed to European integration and strongly supports France's withdrawal from the European Union and NATO. Although in the debates ahead of the election, Le Pen softened his anti-EU stance. But Zhao Yongsheng believes that this is the same as many of Le Pen's previous "de-polarization" moves, but it is just a "scene" for campaign purposes.
If Le Pen is elected, the blow to the EU will undoubtedly be disastrous. Since the founding of the European Union in 1993, France and Germany have been core members of the European Union. The two countries played a central role in Europe's economic and political integration. Once France leaves the EU under Le Pen, the EU, which has just experienced Brexit, will undoubtedly be on the verge of falling apart.
In this case, Macron's election undoubtedly gave the EU a shot in the arm under the grip of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Zhao Yongsheng believes that after the retirement of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the young and experienced Macron has the potential to become the "first leader of the European Union".
William Dozdyak, an American European researcher, believes that Macron is similar to Merkel in his governing style. On the issue of European integration, Macron not only emphasizes the commonalities between european countries in social values and culture, but also adopts a pragmatic strategy on specific economic and political issues.
On May 15, 2017, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a welcoming ceremony for the visiting new French President Emmanuel Macron.
During Macron's first term, Macron supported the signing of the Paris Agreement on a global response to climate change, actively represented the EU in the mediation of the Russian-Ukrainian issue, and publicly declared that NATO has been "brain dead" and called on Europe to establish a security system independent of NATO. Macron's moves prove that he wants to give France and the EU a bigger role on the international stage.
On the US-EU relations, Macron emphasizes the importance of US-EU relations to European security and development on the one hand, and hopes to ensure Europe's independence in foreign and defense policies on the other hand. In 2017, after meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump, Macron delivered a speech at the Sorbonne University in France, stressing that "Europe will gradually and inevitably get rid of the constraints of the United States, and this trend will continue even after Trump leaves office."
In 2019, Macron and Trump met in Washington, and the two sides engaged in fierce confrontations on NATO, international trade, counter-terrorism and other issues.
At the same time, Macron also stressed that Europe must have defense autonomy. To that end, macron's government has aggressively pushed for the creation of an independent EU rapid reaction force by 2023 to reduce its reliance on the United States for defense. In a 2019 interview with US media, Macron said: "From a long-term perspective, I believe that Europe should not only become an economic community, but also a political community. If the EU wants to be a political force, it must first know how to protect itself. ”
Under this vision, Macron, who has been successfully re-elected, may take the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of "Europe's first leader" and further promote the integration of the EU in economy, defense and politics.
Winning is only the first step
As a politician, Macron has ambitious plans for the development prospects of France and Europe. However, to achieve this goal, winning is only the first step.
In order to ensure the stable development of France and Europe, Macron must first help resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
During his first term, Macron maintained active diplomatic engagement with Russia. In a meeting with Putin in 2019, Macron said Russia is a far-reaching European country and has "an important place in Europe's shared values."
When tensions in Russia and Ukraine became tense in February 2022, Macron, who had good relations with Putin, was the only major European leader to travel to Moscow to mediate. Although he ultimately failed to prevent the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Macron's diplomatic efforts have earned him respect in France and Europe.
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Macron took a cautious attitude and tried his best to avoid involving the EU in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Speaking at a voters' meeting on March 8, Macron said: "Russia and its people need to be respected, and without Russia's participation, long-term peace on the European continent cannot be achieved." He added that if Russia shuts down gas supply, next winter in Europe will be tougher.
In August 2019, Macron met with Putin at the Castle of Bregangsson, the summer resort of the French president.
On April 18, in an interview with French media, Macron again warned that Russia should not be "red-lined", and stressed that this move may involve the EU in the war, and that "going to war with Russia means going to war with a nuclear power, which is a responsibility that [the EU] cannot easily assume".
It can be seen that the newly appointed Macron government is likely to continue to impose sanctions on Russia on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, but Macron is also well aware that achieving a peaceful settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian issue as soon as possible is the most in line with European interests. How to avoid the long-term and expansion of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is undoubtedly the most core diplomatic task of the Macron administration in the near future.
At the same time, macron is under pressure to ensure economic growth and reduce inflation on domestic issues. Zhao Yongsheng said that in the debate before the election, Le Pen had attacked Macron about the decline in the purchasing power of the French people, which caused Macron to be on the defensive for a time. To reduce social discontent and ensure that his party maintains its dominance in the French legislature elections to be held in a few months' time, Macron must overcome the impact of covid-19 on the French economy and employment, and ensure that the living standards of French residents are not affected.
Macron launched the "France 2030" plan in 2021 to actively promote the development of France's new energy industry.
Another important economic goal of Macron's second term, Mr. Zhao said, was to ensure that France gained a leading position in the ongoing "new technological revolution." He believes that in the fields of new energy and information technology, there is a significant development gap between the European industrial countries led by France and China and the United States. In order to ensure France's future international competitive advantage, Macron is bound to revitalize French industry and promote scientific and technological innovation as France's most important long-term economic development goal.
In this context, can Macron 2.0 lead France and the EU to continue to play an important role in the international community in the future? People will see.
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