French Election 2022: The Case for Emmanuel Macron
Why Macron must remain in charge for another five years — and what it would spell for the EU and Russia if he loses.
French Elections 2022: The Case for Emmanuel Macron
On the eve of the first round of the French presidential election, Emmanuel Macron seeks to be the first French incumbent president in twenty years to be re-elected. Here is my argument on why he should remain in charge of the European nation for the next five years.
It is safe to say that the French economy is thriving at the moment under Macron’s watch in numerous facets. France has become Europe’s most attractive nation to foreign investors during Macron’s tenure, with overseas investment on a steep rise since Macron took office in 2017. Additionally, 2021 saw the creation of an unprecedented number of nearly 1 million businesses in France, an all-time high. Having slashed the corporate tax rate from 33.3% to 25% and having abandoned the infamous wealth tax, Macron has propelled France to a robust recovery from the pandemic, as the French economy grew by 7% in 2021 - a much stronger recovery than many of their European counterparts. Consumer purchasing power has steadily increased over his incumbency as well, and, moreover, Macron recently celebrated France’s 25th unicorn (a start-up valued at more than $1 billion) - ahead of his own target of 2025. The main point of concern regarding the economy however is the distressingly high government debt, with France’s government debt at 115% of their GDP as of 2020 - higher than the UK, Germany and the EU average. Macron has been accused by his competitors of burdening the country with huge amounts of public debt, and thus this is one grave economic realm where there remain to be question marks concerning Macron’s economic policy and performance.
Aside from the economy, one of the hottest topics of this year’s presidential race is Macron’s handling of the pandemic. France has the fourth most cumulative COVID infections in the world, only trailing behind Brazil, India, and the USA. The French are also fourth in the list of most COVID-related deaths amongst European countries, behind Russia, the UK, and Italy. Factoring in their population relative to others, however, the numbers look less alarming. France is 38th on the list of number of deaths per 100,000, better than a handful of their European neighbours such as Italy, Belgium, the UK, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Spain, etc. Additionally, France has one of the highest vaccination rates on the planet, with 78.1% of its population of 67 million fully vaccinated. This in part explains why they have one of the lowest case-fatality rates in the world at 0.5%; much lower than Mexico (5.7%), Bulgaria (3.2%), and South Africa (2.7%).
Apart from the revival of the economy and his handling of COVID, Macron’s period in office will also be remembered for his foreign policy. To begin with, it is no understatement to say that Macron has played and continues to play a significant mediating role in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. In early February, Macron met with Mr. Putin in Moscow and urged the latter to not initiate a war, playing a very significant diplomatic role in the build-up to the conflict. Macron has also been a driving force in calling upon other nations to impose harsh sanctions on Russia, showing that he has followed through with enforcing detrimental repercussions on Russia as he warned in his earlier conversations with Mr. Putin.
Although Macron’s tenure has at times been stained by controversy and mismanagement, he is still a much better choice for the French than his closest challenger, Marine Le Pen. Le Pen, a far-right candidate who has led the National Front party since January 2011 is known for her nationalist and radical views across France and Europe. The National Front, founded by Le Pen’s father, has historically had a reputation of minimising the impact of the Holocaust during WWII and expressing anti-semitic views. Moreover, in the past, Le Pen has framed globalisation as a threat to traditional and fundamental French values and ideals, claiming that “globalisation feeds on the denial of the fundamental pillars on which the French nation was founded and which most French people still regard as essential.” Additionally, Le Pen has also promised fines for Muslims wearing headscarves, and has vowed to hold a referendum to pull France out of the EU if she is elected, highlighting her nationalistic ideology which is actively resistant to globalisation and diversity. Henceforth, a Le Pen victory would likely spell the end of the EU as we know it. What’s more daunting is that Le Pen is in favour of closer ties with Russia, and has in the past received campaign funding from Russian banks. Though she has condemned the ongoing invasion, she has rejected strict measures from Western nations against Russia, and has historically aligned with the Kremlin on key talking points such as NATO and the western sphere of influence. Thus, a Le Pen victory would not only ensure Putin a western ally, but would also probably mean the end of the European experiment and an isolated France.
It is therefore paramount that Macron must remain in office for the next five years - the world simply cannot afford to have another unpredictable radical nationalist in charge of a big player on the global stage.