Editorial: French president Emmanuel Macron's spectacular surge and stumble

French President Emmanuel Macron pauses before answering as he attend a media conference. Photo / AP

Editorial

French President Emmanuel Macron has a grim claim to fame.

With a rating in the 20s, he's about half as popular as the unpopular US president, Donald Trump.

Few modern leaders have had such a spectacular surge and stumble as Macron, who is only 41 and a year and a half into his rule.

The former investment banker and minister started his own political movement in April 2016. He won the presidency a year later with 66 per cent of the vote.

Macron had triumphed despite not fronting a traditional, tribal party. Perhaps that shallow link meant at least some of his supporters found it easier to discard their loyalty.

The protesters call him arrogant, elitist and a "president for the wealthy". His reforms to reduce state costs were unpopular and public sector workers launched strikes. Students and pensioners were also hit by cuts. A Macron bodyguard moonlighted as a policeman at a march, assaulting a protester. Ministers resigned.

Then the "yellow vest" protests erupted on November 17. Weekend rioting and vandalism followed. Yesterday they were out for an eighth week.

An increase in the fuel tax, a measure to combat climate change, was the torch that lit general discontent.

People in the countryside, dependant on vehicles, were enraged. One protester told the Daily Telegraph: "We're made to pay higher taxes while they've scrapped the wealth tax on the rich ... I struggle at the end of every month to buy food."

Macron, while making concessions including scrapping the fuel tax hike, said the French had to end the "blatant denial of reality: we cannot work less and earn more, cut our taxes and raise our spending, change nothing to our habits and breathe pure air".

He has time to recover. But his presidency highlights the difficulty of juggling long-term goals and short-term politics.

Demonstrators wearing yellow vests stand next to a burning bicycle on the Champs Elysees avenue during a protest in Paris, yesterday. Photo / AP

Climate change keeps gaining urgency: The World Meteorological Organisation reported that 2018 is likely to have been the fourth warmest on record. Yet, to many people it's still a distant concern compared to paying monthly bills.

And with people keenly aware of the global problem of inequality; economic reforms these days require fairness, clear explanations and understanding of the human impact for widespread public acceptance.

Macron has resisted reinstating a wealth tax scrapped in 2017. In comparison, US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, suggests in a 60 Minutes interview today that a scaled tax rate with 70 per cent at the very top for the super wealthy is needed to combat carbon emissions. The top US rate is 37 per cent but used to be much higher in the pre-Reagan era.

The Democratic representative is pushing for a Green New Deal to eliminate fossil fuels by 2030. It's sure to be a major issue in the Democratic presidential primary but will be resisted by some Democrats, the GOP and lobbyists.

Ocasio-Cortez has a tough road making it reality. One bright young political star could learn from one who used to be. A battle-scarred Macron could tell Ocasio-Cortez that her fight is just beginning.