OPINION: Emmanuel Macron - where did it all go wrong?

Macron has less than a year left as President and has effectively lost control of his government and his succession. He surrendered real power after losing a snap parliamentary election almost two years ago. Public opinion is largely negative, with three quarters of French people saying he has been a poor president. He remains respected and sometimes effective abroad, including chairing the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains. Domestically, he has lost control of his government, his party, and influence over who replaces him. His potential successors in the center scarcely mention him, and his preferred path for another run by a discarded prime minister shows no momentum. The political future raises questions about whether a far-right victory is likely.

"With almost a year of his presidency left to run, Emmanuel Macron has effectively lost control of his government and his succession. In less than a year, Emmanuel Macron will cease to be President of the Republic. Put another way, Macron's endless goodbye still has more than 11 months to run. He surrendered real power when he lost a snap parliamentary election almost two years ago. Three quarters of French people say that he has been a poor president. He remains respected, and occasionally effective, abroad."

"In the campaign to replace him in the Elysee Palace next April, Macron is playing no role save that of bogeyman for the Left and Far Right. His would-be successors in the Centre, Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, scarcely mention him. It seems that Macron would like to see a presidential run by another of his discarded Prime Ministers, Jean Castex, who now heads the SNCF, the state-owned railways. But that train shows no sign of leaving the station."

"President Macron still has an important contribution to make in European and global affairs. He is chairing the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains next month. Domestically, he has lost control of the government, his own party and all influence over his succession. He is only 48. It is a sad end to a political career even though perverse French precedent suggests that Macron is likely to become popular and respected in retirement."

"Whose fault is his failure? Does it make a Far Right victory next year inevitable? Emmanuel Macron presented himself in 2017, and again in 2022, as the last bastion against Lepennism. If Marine Le Pen or more likely Jordan Bardella wins next Spring, it will be the ultimate rout and humiliation for Macronism Nine years ago Macron, promised France a painless revolution. Unlike previous French revolutionaries, he would not build barricades, he would destroy them."

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