Since May 2017, Emmanuel Macron has been the eighth president of the Fifth Republic. Amid crises, movement, unfulfilled commitments, and scandals, residents of Nice express their opinions on the term of the youngest president of the Republic.
“We will mainly remember the negative aspects that were quite pronounced,” states Lionel Martin, 38 years old. Since the beginning of his term, Emmanuel Macron has not been spared from scandals, complicated situations, or awkward media appearances. We think of the Benalla affair, the security agent who was violent against protesters, the yellow vests who protested against the rise in fuel prices, and more recently, the global pandemic that heavily impacted government decisions.
“I think he came at a bad time. There were many promises at the start,” explains Lisa Meunier, 33 years old. The President of the Republic indeed had to adapt to crisis situations.
He made debatable decisions for Antoine Marino, 25 years old: “The problem doesn’t come from his policy; it comes from the choices made by the government in certain cases. For COVID, even if it was new, the different protocols, the health passes, the lifting of restrictions, etc. Each time, we didn’t understand why he was doing this.”
Despite being heavily criticized for these decisions, Emmanuel Macron is still supported by a large number of French citizens. He leads the polls with 24.5%, although he has not yet officially announced his candidacy. “He does what he can, he tries, but everyone is against him. I think his approach is sincere, and he tries to be as close as possible to the French,” develops Alexandre Martinez, 28 years old. The Head of State indeed conveyed messages and reached out to the French with his tour of France in 2021, and also the video with YouTubers McFly and Carlito to communicate with the French, particularly the French youth. “It’s all just a facade; he just wants to present an image to preserve his position. We have already seen his true face when he said he would bother the unvaccinated. What I take away from his term is that he’s a clown who doesn’t take responsibility,” claims Sébastien Jaeck, 40 years old, sitting on a bench in the green corridor.
The residents of Nice have given a mixed assessment of his first term, highlighting the current period, which is challenging to manage. With the presidential elections launched, the current Head of State has not yet officially announced his candidacy, although he already has the 500 endorsements. According to several sources, the president was supposed to hold a conference to announce his candidacy. It has been postponed due to tensions between Ukraine and Russia. He has until April 10 to present himself.
