Article 5YGRR Macron’s appeal to unity succeeds but far right makes strong showing

Macron’s appeal to unity succeeds but far right makes strong showing

by
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
from World news | The Guardian on (#5YGRR)

After belatedly realising rationality wasn't enough to win, the president needs to heal a fractured' society's sense of injustice

On the campaign trail in Denain, one of the poorest towns in France, Emmanuel Macron walked into a crowd of voters to take the pulse of the nation" and a woman pushed forward to sum up the mood. We're living in misery," she said. Others shouted: This country doesn't work" and We've had enough". When one father described not managing to make ends meet, Macron said: That's what I'm fighting for." The man shot back: That's not the impression I have."

Macron, a young, former banker, who had loosened labour laws and promised the biggest overhaul of the French welfare state since the war, was lauded internationally for making France a star economic performer" of the pandemic era - growth had bounced back faster than expected from the Covid crisis, unemployment was at its lowest level for more than a decade, and government caps on gas and electricity prices kept French prices from rising as fast as those in European neighbours.

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