Emmanuel Macron Is Down, But He’s Far From Out
The French president's party flopped in regional elections. That doesn't have to dent his reelection chances if he draws lessons from the defeat.
Still a very popular man
Photographer: Chesnot/Getty Images
French presidential careers tend to begin euphorically, screech to a halt in the face of protests over promises becoming policy and end somewhere between indifference and contempt when voters bring out the ballot-box equivalent of the guillotine. The results of regional elections this weekend seemed to prove the pattern. President Emmanuel Macron's party racked up a humiliating defeat less than a year away from an increasingly tight re-election bid against far-right nemesis Marine Le Pen.
Yet on closer look, things are more complicated. While Macron has failed to broaden the appeal of newcomer La Republique En Marche beyond his white-collar base, his personal popularity is at the highest in a year thanks to the lifting of lockdown measures and a “whatever-it-takes” approach to public spending. That can still count for a lot in presidential elections.