PARIS — As thousands of high school students took to the streets last week in a collective wave of protests, French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to a navy ship off the coast of Brittany to watch the test firing of a new ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine. The display underscored a presidency that has often sought to project strength abroad while domestic discontent mounted at home. With just seven months remaining in his final term, Macron is presiding over a nation grappling with a profound fiscal and social crisis, with public debt projected to reach 120% of gross domestic product in 2027, according to reporting by the Oman Observer.
Unfulfilled Promises and Economic Strain
Elected in 2017 at the age of 39 as a reformist centrist, Macron promised to revitalize France’s economy through business tax cuts, loosened labor laws, and an entrepreneurial shift. While he achieved early legislative goals, his elimination of wealth taxes earned him the enduring label of “president of the rich.” The cost-of-living squeeze subsequently fueled widespread unrest, including the yellow vest movement. Public spending reached 57.3% of economic output in 2025—the second-highest in the European Union behind Finland—leaving the generous welfare state vulnerable to potential benefit cuts or debt defaults as bond yields briefly crossed the 5% threshold.
Macron’s second term has been marked by severe legislative gridlock and plunging public approval, which hit 15% in recent polling by Ipsos. His decision to call snap legislative elections after a heavy defeat in the 2024 European Parliament elections backfired, leaving his party with a diminished presence in the National Assembly. This political fracture hobbled his ability to pass budgets and implement structural overhauls, culminating in lawmakers pausing an unpopular retirement age increase to 64 in 2025. Meanwhile, ongoing student demonstrations over overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages have entered their fourth week, with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu left to manage the unfolding domestic unrest.
Foreign Policy Legacy Versus Domestic Realities
While domestic critics view his tenure as a period of unfulfilled expectations, international analysts credit Macron with advancing European strategic autonomy and security cooperation in response to global conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Former French ambassador Gérard Araud noted that Macron has acted as a persistent voice for Europe on the global stage. However, analysts warn that his intellectual approach and elite credentials have alienated him from everyday voters, leaving the French political center hollowed out and vulnerable to far-right gains as Marine Le Pen eyes the presidency next spring.
Follow-up Questions
Will France require financial support from the European Central Bank?
Financial experts and business advisers have raised concerns that rising bond yields could force France to seek ECB support, though no formal bailout request has been made
What remains unclear: Whether market pressures and bond yields will necessitate formal European intervention remains uncertain
What is the status of the controversial retirement age reform?
After sparking widespread protests and losing his parliamentary majority, lawmakers voted in 2025 to pause the increase of the retirement age to 64
What remains unclear: It remains unclear if future administrations will attempt to reinstate the pension overhaul
Perspectives
Jérôme Fourquet’s assessment of the domestic record · Gérard Araud’s assessment of the European role
Story lens
Jérôme Fourquet’s assessment of the domestic record
Analyst Jérôme Fourquet argues that Macron has not delivered the transformation he promised. His assessment concerns the gap between reform ambitions and the domestic record; it should be distinguished from Araud’s qualified appraisal of the president’s European influence.
Gérard Araud’s assessment of the European role
Former ambassador Gérard Araud credits Macron with advancing a European voice internationally, while also arguing that his elite manner has hurt him at home. This is a qualified assessment of foreign-policy influence, not a denial of the domestic and fiscal difficulties described in the report.
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