After Olympic Dream, A Rude Political Awakening For Macron?

by AFP AFP
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The success of the Olympic Games has surpassed the wildest dreams of many in France but in the next weeks President Emmanuel Macron still will have to face the reality of the deadlocked politics created by his calling of snap legislative elections.

With the Games just around the corner, the polls left France with three major blocs in parliament — the left as the largest followed by Macron’s centrist forces and the far right — with none of them close to mustering the numbers for an overall majority.

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French President Emmanuel Macron may be hoping that the Olympic Games boost his embattled fortunes

The former government of Macron allies, under Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, has carried on in a caretaker capacity throughout the Games, but five weeks after the elections, the country still does not have a new prime minister.

Macron may be hoping that the Games boost his embattled fortunes in the same way that France’s winning and hosting of the 1998 football World Cup dragged up former president Jacques Chirac’s popularity ratings.

But even with Paris set to continue basking in the limelight while hosting the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8, Macron faces a potentially fraught return to reality.

While the Games have lifted what was a morose mood in France, it is far from certain this will give a new impulse to the remaining three years of the unpopular president’s mandate.

“The fact that things are going well, that we are seen as beautiful and successful abroad, has struck a chord in a country that was experiencing decline and was no longer capable of doing great things collectively,” said prominent political commentator Emmanuel Riviere.

“This changes the collective climate but not the political situation: the situation remains blocked, many voters are frustrated… The French are putting things into perspective and remain very angry with Emmanuel Macron.”

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French President Emmanuel Macron has celebrated the success of some of France’s top athletes but has otherwise kept a low profile during the GamesLuis ROBAYO

Macron’s approval ratings remain well under 30 percent, with the president keeping a low profile during the election campaign and the Games, spending most of the Olympics ensconced in the Mediterranean holiday residence of the French president and making only occasional visits to Paris.

“The country needed this moment of coming together. In terms of the political impact, I remain very reserved,” one minister from the outgoing government, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

AFP


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