Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected to another five-year term as the president of France, defeating his right-wing opponent Marine Le Pen with 58% of the vote in a runoff held on Sunday, April 24. France’s political parties now have their eyes set on the country’s parliamentary elections, with Le Pen having confirmed that she will run for re-election in Pas-de-Calais.
Here are some the key challenges awaiting Macron.
- National Unity
The country remains divided. The re-elected president will have to reach out to those who did not vote for him if he hopes to avoid mass street protests in France over the next five years. The possibility of more Yellow Vest protests is noted in virtually every political analysis. Also, Macron’s choice of Prime Minister and the composition of the next government will be crucial in determining whether the president veers toward increased tension or political compromise. Macron has every reason to demonstrate openness to compromise, as parliamentary elections are just around the corner, in June. In the event that his party fares poorly, he could have a hard time forging national reconciliation. In the long term, he will have to find the ways and means to bridge the gap between France’s citizens and its elected officials.
- Main Street Economics
This was a major issue throughout the presidential campaign. The new government will have to continue to support France’s economically vulnerable as well as the middle class in the face of increasingly higher energy prices and inflation in general. The discount system of 15 to 18 cents on a liter of gasoline is set to end on July 31. Barring a drop in prices before then, the system will have to be extended, or other levers implemented, in order to reduce what people pay at the pumps. But how long can the government afford to subsidize cheap energy, and what will be the consequences for French public finance?
- The war in Ukraine
Whether continued large-scale destruction and violence, military stalemate, the use of weapons of mass destruction or more refugees, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia threatens to evolve dangerously in the short term with the possibility of the conflict spreading. French diplomacy is all the more important, as the French president is also the President of the Council of the European Union until June 30. “In this dramatic context, my responsibility is to devote all my energy to finding a way out of this conflict,” Macron declared to the French people during the election campaign.
The international stakes of a French election have rarely been so important. This one was about the future of democracy in Europe and the unity of NATO.
Vladimir Putin must have been happy when he learned the results of the first round of the French presidential election. Although in Ukraine visions of horror such as mass graves and devastated cities have taken their toll, and the Russian president now stands accused of crimes against humanity, one in two French people voted for candidates who had previously expressed their admiration for Putin, his ideas, his foreign policy: Marine Le Pen at 23%, Jean-Luc Mélenchon with 22%, and Éric Zemmour – 8%.While Western leaders called for unity, in the first round of the presidential election, one in two French voters still supported parties largely hostile to the European Union and NATO.
- Climate change
The importance of this issue did not translate into a massive amount of votes being cast for French environmentalists. However, the climate emergency has not diminished, and it is still one of the main concerns of the French, especially among young people. During the end of his last term, Macron reminded voters that never had so much been done for the environment as was done under his administration, but many in France believe just the opposite. Macron hinted that he wanted to plan an environmental transition for years to come, by breaking down measures to be taken by region, department, city and major economic sectors. In any case, his re-election means that he should understand that he has to move faster on this issue – but just how fast is the question.
The results of the second round, with the victory of Macron in France, will reassure international partners, particularly the EU, on the choice of French society, the choice of French foreign policy and global political and geopolitical orientations.
Olivier VÉDRINE is a French fournalist, former TV presenter on various Ukrainian national channels, Editor-in-chief of Russian Monitor, a Russian opposition online newspaper (https://rusmonitor.com/), Member of the Board of Directors of the Jean Monnet Association https://jean-monnet.fr/?p=103 and author of several books
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and not necessarily those of the Kyiv Post.
