At 20:00 local time on April 24, the second round of voting in the French general election ended. Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron defeated far-right National Front (RN) candidate Marine Le Pen with 58 percent of the vote to win the presidential election and become France's 25th president. Macron was also the first French president to be re-elected since Jacques Chirac (1995-2007). In the eyes of French electors, the result was expected but disappointing. Today, Macron has saddled France with huge debts, and is no longer the new candidate who rushed to the political scene five years ago by exalting great promises. The French newspaper Le Monde commented: "After a difficult first five-year term marked by successive crises, Macron has gathered a lot of resentment and dissatisfaction, even hatred. ”
"President of all Frenchmen"
After winning the election, Macron said on social media that in the past five years, France has undergone various changes, from happy times to difficult times, as well as unprecedented crises. He thanked the French people for their trust in him to continue to lead France for the next five years.
On the evening of the same day, he also held a supporter rally celebration in the Place de Mars in the center of Paris, accompanied by "Ode to Joy" and the French national anthem "Marseille", which lasted about 10 minutes. Macron began by saying that on April 24, the day, most people chose him to continue to lead the country for the next 5 years. "I am grateful to the French who chose to trust me in the first and second rounds of voting to build a more independent France, a stronger Europe, and make France an environmental powerhouse through investment and profound change."
Macron said he knew quite a few voters voted for him, not to support his policies, but to "deter the far right." He expressed his recognition of his responsibility to this segment of the electorate and thanked them. He also referred to voters who had abandoned their votes, saying they should also respond to "their silence." "I'm well aware that this vote means taking responsibility for years to come. I am their representative of a sense of obligation, a love of the Republic, and respect for differences. ”
He also shouted to Le Pen's supporters, saying that from now on he was not a candidate for a campaign camp, but "the president of all Frenchmen.". He said he knew that many voters chose the far right and had to find answers to the anger and disagreement behind their choices. He said voters "chose a humanitarian platform, an ambitious platform for the independence of France and Europe." He believes that the French have chosen a program for the defence of republican, social and environmental values, a program based on work and creativity, a program for the emancipation of academies, cultures, and corporate innovation.
Macron briefly looked ahead to the next 5 years of his term, saying he would find better governance for a better 5 years, provide better services to the country and young people, and pledged to continue to work on building a fairer, gender-equal society. "The war in Ukraine is not over, reminding us that France must make a clear choice and show its strength in all areas. We must maintain goodwill and respect because our country is full of questions and disagreements. No one will be left on the side of the road. We must unite so that we can live happily in France. The coming years will not be calm, but it will be historic. We will write history for our generation! ”
He concluded by saying, "The new era that is about to begin will not be a continuation of the expiring term." Each of us will work on this. This special strength has created the French, and I will continue to serve the French people, whom I love and are proud of. ”
Turnout was record low
At present, Macron's opponent Le Pen has admitted defeat and made a speech. "The results of the second round of voting were brilliant successes in themselves," she said, and that "tens of millions of compatriots have chosen our camp and changed." I would like to thank all the millions of people who chose to trust me in the first round and joined us in the second round. ”
It is worth mentioning that the voting abstention rate of the French general election has reached a new low. In the first round of voting, the abstention rate reached 26%, while in the second round of voting the abstention rate was as high as 28%, the highest since 1969.
After Macron's victory, EU leaders were quick to congratulate him. Charles Michel, president of the European Council, tweeted: "Good look, Emmanuel". "In these turbulent times, we need a solid Europe and a France that is fully committed to building a more sovereign and strategic European Union," he said. ”
The leaders of Sweden, Romania, Lithuania, Finland, the Netherlands and Greece, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, all reacted within half an hour of the results and congratulated them. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: "I look forward to continuing our extensive and constructive cooperation within the EU and NATO and further strengthening the good relations between our countries." British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also congratulated, pledging to work with Macron and saying "France is one of our closest and most important allies".
A review of Macron's first term performance
In 2021, two of Le Monde's reporters, Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme, published a new book, Le Traitre et le Néant, which provides a critical assessment of Macron's presidency. Al Jazeera explained the title of the book: "Traitor" is Macron, and "Nothingness" is his great policy and tendency.
As a former economy minister, in-depth economic reform was a top priority during Macron's first term. Macron reduced the corporate tax rate from 33.3 percent to 25 percent, reducing social security contributions from salaried earners and significantly reducing labor costs. Macron also amended the Labor Code, so that not only the rights and interests of workers are protected, but the right of employers to dismiss workers is also guaranteed. He also abolished the Wealth Tax (ISF) and established a Flat Rate (PFU) on capital income to encourage investors to invest in companies and the real economy.
Cover of Traitors and Nothingness.
Bruno Le Maire, the economy minister, has publicly stated that "the French economy has performed very well in these five years". According to data released by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Research (INSEE) at the end of January this year, the economic growth rate in 2021 is 7%, and the economic growth rate is negative 8% due to france being hit by the pandemic in 2020. In addition, France's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is one of the strongest in the eurozone. The unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, the lowest rate since 2008. France's attractiveness to foreign investors has also improved considerably: in 2020 there will be 985 foreign investment projects in France, compared with 975 in the UK and 930 in Germany.
France's trade balance remains a major issue. Compared to 2019, France's foreign trade deficit (the difference between France's imports and exports) increased by 7.3 billion euros to 65.2 billion euros in 2020. At the same time, the quality of workers' work in France has declined significantly. Between the second quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2021, the average working week for workers fell from 32 hours to 30.9 hours, according to Mediapart.
Graph of changes in the GDP growth rate of France.
Macron has made two controversial reforms. One sparked the 2018 "Yellow Vest Movement" (Mouvement des Gilets jaunes). At that time, Macron raised the fuel tax, and demonstrators frequently took to the streets to protest against the continuous rise in oil prices. Gradually, the protesters' demands quickly expanded to other areas, such as boosting the purchasing power of the grassroots and middle classes. Demonstrators chanted "Macron, step down!" "(Macron, Démission!) signs express strong dissatisfaction with Macron." The "Yellow Vest Movement" continued until 2020 when it gradually subsided. Another controversial reform occurred in 2019. Macron announced that the retirement age would be raised to 65, and several French unions joined forces to carry out a general strike, including public transportation. The strike lasted for several months, and the normal life of the people was greatly affected. The strike was the largest strike protest since the retirement general strike of 1995.
"Yellow Vest Movement".
On the diplomatic front, France 24 described Macron as "a president with insufficient ability and only mediation." At the beginning of his term, Macron, aware of France's retreat on the international stage and seeing himself as the "leader of multilateralism", was busy with a series of diplomatic events such as Brexit, hoping to change France's image on the international stage. When Macron visited China in 2018, he chose to visit Xi'an, the starting point of China's ancient overland Silk Road, and mentioned that Europe should participate in the infrastructure projects of the "Belt and Road". However, before the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war this year, Macron traveled to Moscow on February 7 with the intention of easing relations with Putin and maintaining peace in Europe. Two weeks later, Putin announced the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, and the Russo-Ukrainian War broke out. On 17 February, Macron officially announced the withdrawal of French troops from Mali, ending the nine-year-long Balkhone operation. Le Monde commented that France's withdrawal marked a sharp breakdown in France's relations with the Malian military junta, the failure of large-scale military operations in Africa, and the sharp decline of its dominance for many years.
In 2018, Macron and his wife visited Xi'an.
France-24 believes that "Macron's repeated setbacks in diplomacy symbolize France's incompetence on the international stage." Even so, Macron has been struggling. He strives to seize every opportunity, relying on his personal connections with the leaders of different countries in the world, to give France a good role on the international stage."
In an interview with The Economist in November 2019, Macron said NATO was "brain dead." However, during the Russo-Ukrainian War, he remained a leader who "served" NATO. On January 1, 2022, France assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union Council, and Macron is more eager to do something internationally. He once said: "We must transform from a Europe that is only geographically closely linked to a Europe that is very strong in the world, with full sovereignty, free to make its own choices and control its own destiny." "Today, the Russo-Ukrainian War is reshuffling the world pattern. For now, we will have to wait a few months to know whether Macron's international ambitions will be reinvigorated or will suffer further setbacks.
Macron and his family's well-known love story
At the time of Macron's election in 2017, his love story with his wife, Brigitte Macron, was the envy of people. Now five years of presidenthood have also led to Brigitte Macron's frequent public appearances.
When Macron was in high school in Amiens, Brigitte was his Language and Drama teacher, 24 years older than Macron. At one point, Macron approached Brigitte and asked her to instruct her in writing a script for her graduation performance. "I thought he wouldn't last long. Soon he would feel bored. We wrote together, little by little, and I was completely impressed by the cleverness of this boy. Brigitte recalled.
Macron was 16 years old to leave Amiens to finish his studies in Paris. Before leaving, he vowed to marry Brigitte. However, at this time Brigitte had a husband and three children. "We talk on the phone a lot, and we talk for hours." Little by little, Macron used his patience to make Brigitte give up resistance. The two married in 2007, despite opposition. So far, the two have no children.
After staying at the Elysee Palace, Brigitte became the First Lady of France. Unlike the "first lady" of the United States, which has legal status and government funding, France's first lady status is very vague. Although the First Lady of France has no salary, she also enjoys state benefits: she has her own office at the Elysée Palace, employs a varying number of clerks to work for her, and is equipped with specialized security personnel ... Of course, the salaries and expenses of these employees are deducted from the expenses of the presidential office, rather than separately allocated from the government budget.
Unlike past French presidents' wives, Brigitte is beloved by the French, receiving nearly 200 letters a day, more than Hollande's "first girlfriend" receives a year, according to a spokesman for Brigitte's office. The French magazine Paris Match conducted a study on Brigitte in March, which mainly investigated whether Brigitte's role as the first lady of France during the five years satisfied the French masses. The results showed that 55% of respondents were satisfied with her, and more than half of the participants believed that Brigitte had a positive impact on Macron and France. In addition, 52% believe she shouldn't just stay behind the scenes. A third of The French want Brigitte to run for the next presidency.
News and image source: Le Monde, Al Jazeera, France 24, Paris Match, BBC, Le Echo, Deutsche Welle, Elle, The New York Times, some images from the Internet
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