Left Resistance Forms
Macron promises political reorientation
07/05/2022, 06:48 PM
Emmanuel Macron, often criticized as the “president of the wealthy,” says he wants to put a new focus on his second presidency. It is about inclusion in schools, better access to the health system and a more livable planet, especially for young people.
Stringed music of Handel, hundreds of guests and a number of cannonballs accompanied re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron at his second inauguration. Macron, often criticized as arrogant, tried to signal a new beginning and nothing more. “This new people, different from what it was five years ago, has entrusted a new president with a new mandate,” the 44-year-old, who triumphed against the far-right Marine Le Pen two weeks ago, said at the inauguration. Ceremony at the Elysee Palace.
Specifically, the center’s politician wants to make schools more inclusive, make the health system more accessible, and build a new peace in Europe. Speaking to the youth, he promised to leave a more livable planet and France stronger and more vibrant. Macron said it was necessary to work to create a more independent France.
Macron is the lesser of two evils for many voters
Many were unhappy with Macron’s first term. He eventually won the run-off against Le Pen because leftists and conservatives wanted to deny rights as president and reluctantly give him the right to vote. Despite the social mobilization, Macron may have been closer to Le Pen than his camp would have liked, with an election result of 58.55 percent to 41.45 percent. The result was seen as a warning shot for Macron, also in connection with parliamentary elections in June in the deeply divided country.
In addition to ministers, former presidents and representatives of other institutions, Macron also invited health workers and children to the opening, perhaps as a sign of recognition. Macron said he knows there are many fears and divisions. Together, you must devise a new way to create a new social contract. He wanted to bring France together, from rural to working-class regions and from the mainland abroad.
How strong is the united left?
While Macron was being celebrated as the new president in the heart of Paris, those who wanted to challenge him for power were already preparing outside the city gates. After hard negotiations over the past few weeks, the previously fragmented French left-wing camp was able to forge an alliance: Nouvelle Union Populaire Écologique et Sociale, or Nupes for short. There are leftists, greens, socialists and communists.
In the parliamentary elections in June, they are now united against Macron under this banner. If they gain a majority in the National Assembly, Macron will actually have to appoint a prime minister from among their ranks, which will significantly reduce his power. Altleft Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who narrowly missed out on the presidential finals, is already off to the start, although it is unclear whether his camp will actually be able to hold a candle for Macron. Macron now faces the difficult task of appeasing even his hesitant voters with a new government force and thus scoring points in parliamentary elections – or at least not turning them against him and pushing them into the hands of his opponents and into the polls.
