Political positions of Emmanuel Macron

Macron (sitting far left) and French President François Hollande at the G20 summit in Mexico, 19 June 2012
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Emmanuel Macron
  • Political career

President (2017–present)
Minister of Economy and Industry (2014–2016)
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Emmanuel Macron, the 25th president of France, positions himself as a liberal and a centrist.[1][2] When he launched his party En Marche in April 2016, he said that it was "neither right nor left". By March 2017, Macron stated that he and his party were now "both right and left".[3] Prior to the establishiment of En Marche, some observers described him as a social liberal,[4][5][6] while others called him a social democrat,[7] having been a member of the Socialist Party. During his time in the Socialist Party, he supported the party's centrist wing,[8] whose political stance has been associated with Third Way policies advanced by Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and Gerhard Schröder, and whose leading spokesman has been former prime minister Manuel Valls.[9][10][11][12]

Macron is accused by some members of the yellow vest movement of being an "ultra-liberal president for the rich".[13] Macron was dubbed the "president of the very rich" by former Socialist French president François Hollande.[14] In the past, Macron called himself a "socialist";[15] since August 2015, he labelled himself as a "centrist liberal", refusing observations by critics that he is an "ultra-liberal" economically.[1] During a visit to Vendée in August 2016, he said that he was not a socialist and merely served in a "left-wing government".[16] He has called himself both a "man of the left" and "liberal" in his book Révolution.[17] Macron has since been labelled an economic neoliberal with a socio-cultural liberal viewpoint.[18]

Macron created the centrist political party En Marche in an attempt to create a party that could cross partisan lines.[19] Speaking on why he formed En Marche, he said there is a real divide in France between "conservatives and progressives".[20] His political platform during the 2017 French presidential election contained stances from both the left and right,[21] which led to him being positioned as a radical centrist by Le Figaro.[22] Macron rejected centrist as a label,[23] although political scientist Luc Rouban compared his platform to former centrist president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who is the only other French president to have been elected on a centrist platform.[24]

Macron has been compared to Giscard d'Estaing due to their ability to win a presidential election on a centrist platform and for their similar governing styles. Both were inspectors of finance, were given responsibilities based around tax and revenue, both were very ambitious about running for the position of president, showing their keenness early in their careers, and both were seen as figures of renewal in French political life.[25][26][27][28][29][30] In 2016, d'Estaing said himself that he was "a little like Macron".[31] Observers have noted that while they are alike ideologically, d'Estaing had ministerial experience and time in Parliament to show for his political life while Macron had never been elected before.[32]

  1. ^ a b Fournier, Audrey (27 September 2015). "Emmanuel Macron: "Le libéralisme est une valeur de la gauche"". Le Monde (in French). ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  2. ^ "France's Macron Joins Presidential Race to 'Unblock France'". BBC, UK. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  3. ^ Chabal, Emile; Behrent, Michael C. (2 October 2022). "Between neo-liberalism and the nation: France's political landscape in 2022". Modern & Contemporary France. 30 (4): 517–533. doi:10.1080/09639489.2022.2134327. hdl:20.500.11820/67e58b7d-d049-401f-a747-8c1f44029696. ISSN 0963-9489.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference lejdd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference unBanquier was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference brustier was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Odile Benyahia-Kouider (28 December 2012). "Ils ont marqué 2012: Emmanuel Macron, l'enfant prodige de l'Elysée". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Gauche, droite, centre... qui peut s'allier à Macron?". Bfmtv.com. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  9. ^ "C'est la confiance des entreprises que Manuel Valls doit vraiment obtenir". Slate. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Manuel Valls, c'est le blairisme, mais plus à droite encore". Le Nouvel Observateur. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  11. ^ Perrineau, Pascal (2016). "Les droites en France à l'horizon de 2017". Le Débat. 191 (4/191): 113–20. doi:10.3917/deba.191.0113.
  12. ^ "Valls and Macron have much in common...apart from their poll ratings". Financial Times. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  13. ^ Lichfield, John (5 February 2019). "Call Emmanuel Macron any name you like – but not 'liberal'". Politico. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  14. ^ Arthur Berdah (26 April 2018). "Pour Hollande, Macron est "le président des très riches"" (in French). Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  15. ^ France Inter (24 January 2017). "'Moi, je suis socialiste': Emmanuel Macron en 2014 – Le 07h43". YouTube. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference BFMTV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "Les premiers extraits du livre de Macron dévoilés". Le Huffington Post. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  18. ^ Doucet, David (26 April 2017). "Le Parti socialiste et les Républicains risquent d'imploser". Les Inrocks. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Dépasser le clivage gauche-droite, comme le veut Macron, une idée payante ?". Le Monde (in French). 8 April 2016. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  20. ^ "Macron: 'La gauche aujourd'hui ne me satisfait pas'". Le Monde (in French). 23 April 2016. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  21. ^ Sénécat, Adrien (10 November 2016). "Macron candidat à la présidentielle: des propositions mélangeant gauche, droite, neuf et vieux". Le Monde (in French). ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  22. ^ Feertchak, Alexis (8 March 2017). "L'offre politique d'Emmanuel Macron au défi des classes populaires". Le Figaro (in French). ISSN 0182-5852. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  23. ^ Mediapart Fr (2 November 2016). "Macron le Gaulois?". YouTube. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  24. ^ "Macron est politiquement coincé". Le Parisien (in French). 23 April 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  25. ^ "Luc Rouban: 'Macron renoue avec la tradition des inspecteurs des Finances à sensibilité sociale'". L'Opinion (in French). 17 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  26. ^ "Emmanuel Macron, un Giscard de gauche". Libération (in French). Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  27. ^ "Macron, ce Giscard de gauche que la France attend". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  28. ^ "Histoires d'info. Emmanuel Macron dans les pas de Valéry Giscard d'Estaing?". Franceinfo (in French). 1 September 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  29. ^ Lebaron, Frédéric (23 August 2016). "2. La croyance économique dans le champ politique français". Regards Croisés Sur l'Économie (in French). 18 (18): 32–44. doi:10.3917/rce.018.0032. ISSN 1956-7413.
  30. ^ "Emmanuel Macron, le lanceur d'alerte". Marianne (in French). 1 September 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  31. ^ "Le conseil de Giscard d'Estaing à Macron: gagner "de l'expérience"". France Soir (in French). 6 July 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  32. ^ Opération Elysée (17 November 2016). "Emmanuel Macron peut-il créer la surprise pour la présidentielle 2017 ?". YouTube. Retrieved 12 August 2017.