Frankreich: Der einsame Präsident – diese Alleingänge kosteten Macron das Vertrauen

Paris. The tension is palpable for Emmanuel Macron. Recently, the French President visited security forces in Marseille with hollow eye rings. At the town hall, he bore the scars of the riots that took place in mid-October: graffiti on the wall, the broken front door, and damage to the fallen Marianne statue – the symbol of the French Republic.

He uttered a sentence rarely heard from him: "We did not anticipate this." Self-criticism is uncommon for Macron. The President is trying to regain lost trust. In six months, his time as President will end, and he will not run again. The situation becomes increasingly tense for him. For weeks, discontent over education and living costs has driven people in France onto the streets.

There were violent riots, and nationwide strikes occurred on Thursday. At the same time, his high national debt leaves him with no room for maneuver. At the center of the crisis is a President who once wanted to heal divided France – but now stands almost alone. While in Germany, the image of the eloquent and talented politician still prevails, the increasingly weakened President meets with wrath and rejection above all in his own country. How did this happen?