Jobs
French President Macron’s Unemployment Challenge May Help Marine Le Pen
- French jobless rate 7.5% at end of 2023 vs 7.1% year earlier
- President’s goal of full employment is looking harder to reach
Emmanuel Macron
Photographer: Nathan Laine/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
France’s labor market is turning against Emmanuel Macron, raising concerns in his team that the president’s record as an economic reformer can’t counter the rising popularity of Marine Le Pen.
Rising joblessness over the course of last year already makes it increasingly unlikely that he will reach a goal of “full employment” that he set for his second term ending in 2027. In the fourth quarter, the unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, up from 7.1% a year earlier.