Eight Reasons Why Emmanuel Macron May Soon Regret His Victory
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
May 8, 2017
The confetti were still littering Paris from Macron’s celebration event on Sunday night when the 39-year-old Frenchman became the youngest president in French history, and already he met with one of the biggest challenges facing his new administration: a population, mostly among the local labor unions, that is unwilling to accept any if not all of the proposed economic reforms, and made this abundantly clear on Monday by clashing in violent protests across Paris with the local riot police.
That’s not the only reason why Emmanuel Macron may find the hangover of his bitter fight with Marine Le Pen unpleasant. As The Local writes, while Macron’s supporters were jumping for joy at the Louvre and commentators all over the world were hailing Emmanuel Macron’s victory as a triumph for liberal and centrist values, a majority of French people won’t have seen it as a cause for celebration. And although Macron should be relieved, there are a few major reasons why he should stay off the Champagne this week.
Below, according to the French publication, are eight reasons why Macron has little reason for celebration as he prepares to replace Francois Hollande as the next French president.
1. He didn’t win over the majority of French people
In the second round, 56 percent of French people either abstained, cast a blank vote or voted for Le Pen. He may have won a majority of the vote, but that doesn’t make for a majority of French people. Even in first round vote, when French people “vote with their hearts” and choose the candidate they really want, Macron didn’t do spectacularly.
On April 23rd some 8.6 million people voted for Macron, out of a possible 47 million, so in reality, you could argue that only a 6th of French voters would have Macron as their first choice. But even in the first round he benefited from tactical voting.
2. Many of those who voted for him aren’t really behind him
Of those who did vote for him, many said were doing so simply because he wasn’t Marine Le Pen. Some 33 percent of respondents in an Ipsos poll said they voted Macron because they were won over by the political renewal they saw in him. Sixteen percent put his policies top of the list, while 8 percent said his personality was the main reason they voted for him.
However the largest chunk, 43 percent, said they were mostly voting against Le Pen.
The Rest…HERE
