London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

French election: Historic win but Macron has polarised France

French election: Historic win but Macron has polarised France

Before the caveats, it is only fair to acknowledge the scale of President Macron's achievement.

Macron's supporters were happy - but has he forced those who oppose him to the extremes of the political spectrum?

Not enough is being made of this, but this is the first time ever that a governing president of the Fifth Republic has been re-elected.

Yes, presidents have retained the Elysée before. But both François Mitterrand in 1988 and Jacques Chirac in 2002 were effectively in opposition in the period running up to the vote.

In both cases, actual government was - as a result of mid-term parliamentary elections - in the hands of the president's foes. Though in office, Mitterrand and Chirac were politically impotent - but that helped when the wheel turned again and they found themselves back in favour.

As for Charles de Gaulle's victory in 1965, he'd never been elected by the people in the first place.

So, Emmanuel Macron is the first president in modern times who, after running every aspect of foreign and domestic policy for a full term, has once again won the trust of the people.

When you consider France's longstanding relationship with government - which is essentially to cheer 'em in, then chuck 'em out at the first opportunity - this is no mean feat.

He has done it by two methods, the first of which bodes well for the next five years, the second less so.

The results suggest that hidden beneath the seething mass of social media caricatures - the arrogant Parisian rich, the angry provincial mob - there are millions of French people of the middling type who feel that Emmanuel Macron has not been at all a bad president.

These people appreciate that unemployment is no longer a political issue, largely because of Macron's reforms. They think his handling of Covid was competent, and they agree that pushing back the age of retirement is inevitable.

According to projections Macron has taken 58% of the vote to Le Pen's 42% - making it a narrower victory than in 2017


They also discern a leader who can more than hold his own on the international stage. They are glad there is someone at the Elysée with the stature to talk straight with Putin, even if it proved a fruitless endeavour.

And they reckon that under Macron France can aspire to take the lead in Europe, at a time when his vision of greater military and economic autonomy for the EU is looking more and more relevant. The contrast on this front with Marine Le Pen could not have been starker.

These people may not particularly like Emmanuel Macron - he's too different - but enough have come to respect him.

However, the second aspect of the Macron methodology is more problematic - and this is where the caveats come in.

Five years ago, Macron made a brilliant gamble about the state of modern politics.

By straddling the centre, he destroyed the old pairing of conservatives and social democrats, and using the powers implicit in De Gaulle's Fifth Republic, he installed a highly personalised and highly concentrated system of government from the Elysée.

Opposition was forced to the "extremes" of left and right, where he trusted they could never really pose a threat. So far he has been proved right, as this election shows.

But the election has also demonstrated something else: that more and more people in France are now prepared to dally with the "extremes". They do it because - thanks to the successful Macron revolution - there is nowhere else for them to go if they want to oppose him.

Many of these voters - especially the millions who chose the far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon - now want their revenge on the newly re-elected head of state.

They hope they can do it at the parliamentary elections which will take place in June. But if that does not work, they dream of a social "third round" in September taking the form of anti-Macron demonstrations on the street, especially if he has by then launched a new wave of reforms.

Emmanuel Macron will no doubt start this second term promising a new kind of government. He'll be more of a listener. He knows there are wounds that need to heal. The trouble is that he has said that kind of thing before, and a lot of people simply don't believe him.

"Not only has this election shown that there are two opposing Frances out there. It's also revealed a growing tendency for people to say that the opposite camp is not legitimate," said commentator Natacha Polony.

"In the past elections always ended with someone who people recognised as president of all the French. I'm not sure that is the case any more."


Marine Le Pen: "I will never abandon French people"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
×