Since the dissolution that he himself initiated, Emmanuel Macron has tried as best he can to exist on the national and international levels. On January 10, the Head of State invited around thirty major business leaders to the Elysée for a lunch. A meeting organized ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
In front of the CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanné, the general director of L’Oréal, Nicolas Hieronimus, and the boss of Société Générale, Slawomir Krupa, Emmanuel Macron rolled out his priorities in terms of economic policy in an offensive manner. However, the President of the Republic cannot ignore this: it is not he who determines and conducts the nation’s policy, but the government, as required by article 20 of the Constitution. No interference, however, the Palace swears.
How to hide reality
Quite a symbol. Last year, Emmanuel Macron led an unexpected promotional operation for France in the opulent Swiss ski resort among the world’s money makers. The European elections were far away and he was still master of his destiny. This year, the tenant of the Elysée is skipping the Swiss parenthesis and trying, in advance, to send a few messages to the leaders of the CAC 40. It is up to them to then deliver the good word. Like a business seminar, the watchword was cohesion. The Head of State invited his interlocutors to strengthen ties, while praising France’s good economic performance.
An observation far removed from reality. The bad news on the unemployment and reindustrialization front is piling up. Not to mention the proliferation of social plans and the worrying increase in business failures. Emmanuel Macron pretends to be unaware that he no longer has a majority to pass possible reforms and that a budget – leaning to the left – is currently being decided without him. Appearances are deceptive: the President of the Republic has lost his touch.