History UsefulNotes / ThePresidentsOfFrance

Macron and his majority have committed to supplying UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} with weapons and special trainings to help against the mass scale UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}n invasion since early 2022, although comparatively less so than other Western powers.

See UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi for the monarchs.

Despite being a center-right President, he spearheaded progressive reforms on such social issues as the age of majority (reduced from 21 to 18), divorce, birth control and abortion, and instituted France's high-speed rail and nuclear power systems.\\

Giscard d'Estaing was a major proponent of European integration, as got along extremely well with the Social Democratic chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Schmidt, becoming not only close political partners, but also personal friends. In fact, the two got along better with each other than with the respective leaders of the opposition, who should have been their natural political allies. This pattern was later repeated with Socialist president François Mitterand and Christian Democratic chancellor Helmut Kohl.\\

His second term started in the weirdest of ways; on one hand he was the first president reelected outside of a "cohabitation", on the other he was also the first president elect who failed to obtain a majority in the following legislative elections, with his parliament coalition’s size shrinking considerably compared to 2017 and two strong opposition poles appearing on the left with the "NUPES" coalition[[note]]Nouvelle Union Populaire, Écologique et Sociale (New Popular, Ecological and Social Union), which includes France Unbowed, the Communist Party, the Green Party and the Socialist Party[[/note]], and on the right with the National Rally managing to massively break through in parliament for the first time under the two-round system. This lack of majority has forced Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne to massively use Article 49-3 of the Constitution (which allows her to more or less bypass the parliament entirely) to pass the budget laws and hotly debated reforms regarding retirement pensions and retirement age, as well as cancel amendments from the oppositions, much to their ire. In turn, this caused a wave of strikes and social movements unseen since about 1995. Borne lasted 20 months, after which she resigned in January 2024 and was replaced by one of the earliest followers of Macron at En Marche, Gabriel Attal, who's had many successive jobs in the Macron administration since 2017 including deputy and Minister of the Education for merely six months (from mid-2023 to January 2024).

* ''Bernadette'', a 2023 French comedy film about Jacques Chirac's wife Bernadette, played by Creator/CatherineDeneuve. Jacques himself is played by Michel Vuillermoz.

His second term started in the weirdest of ways; on one hand he was the first president reelected outside of a "cohabitation", on the other he was also the first president elect who failed to obtain a majority in the following legislative elections, with his parliament coalition’s size shrinking considerably compared to 2017 and two strong opposition poles appearing on the left with the "NUPES" coalition[[note]]Nouvelle Union Populaire, Écologique et Sociale (New Popular, Ecological and Social Union), which includes France Unbowed, the Communist Party, the Green Party and the Socialist Party[[/note]], and on the right with the National Rally managing to massively break through in parliament for the first time under the two-round system. This lack of majority has forced Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne to massively use Article 49-3 of the Constitution (which allows her to more or less bypass the parliament entirely) to pass the budget laws and hotly debated reforms regarding retirement pensions and retirement age, as well as cancel amendments from the oppositions, much to their ire. In turn, this caused a wave of strikes and social movements unseen since about 1995.

Nicknamed ''Président Soleil'' or "President Sun" for him being a NouveauRiche. Second president to die in office, he was found dead after a [[OutWithABang private meeting]] with Marguerite Steinheil[[note]]Clemenceau said of Faure, "He wanted to be Caesar and was merely Pompey" (in French ''Pompée'' means "pumped", slang for "being given a blowjob" in this case)[[/note]].

He was President from 1946 to 1954 and wanted to be an arbitrator between the different factions.\\

* In his "African President" sketch from his 2009 show ''J'ai fait l'con'', Dieudonné M'bala M'bala played a fictional PresidentForLife of Cameroon who [[CorruptPolitician receives suitcases of cash]] from Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou.

* ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'' (1988-2018) was the definitive political satire show on French TV after the death of the ''Bébête Show''. During its 30 years of existence, every then-current president was caricatured from François Mitterrand at the show's beginnings all the way to Emmanuel Macron when it was eventually put to rest. The puppets of Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande were central figures during their real life selves' respective mandates, and were subjected to ''much'' TakeThat (and the puppet of Chirac [[BreakoutCharacter became the show's absolute fan favorite]] and de facto {{Mascot}}). As for past president by the time of the show, Charles de Gaulle showed up here and there either in historical events recreations or with [[WingedHumanoid angel wings]] in [[CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven Heaven]], Georges Pompidou [[DemotedToExtra showed up the least of all]], and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was portrayed almost exclusively as a ScatterbrainedSenior in retirement.

* ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'' (1988-2018) was the definitive political satire show on French TV after the death of the ''Bébête Show''. During its 30 years of existence, every president was caricatured from François Mitterrand at the show's beginnings all the way to Emmanuel Macron when it was eventually put to rest. The puppets of Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande were central figures during their real life selves' respective mandates, and were subjected to ''much'' TakeThat (and the puppet of Chirac [[BreakoutCharacter became the show's absolute fan favorite]] and de facto {{Mascot}}). As for past president by the time of the show, Charles de Gaulle showed up here and there either in historical events recreations or with [[WingedHumanoid angel wings]] in [[CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven Heaven]], Georges Pompidou [[DemotedToExtra showed up the least of all]], and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was portrayed almost exclusively as a ScatterbrainedSenior in retirement.

* ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'' (1988-2018) was the definitive political satire show on French TV after the death of the ''Bébête Show''. During its 30 years of existence, every president was caricatured from François Mitterrand at the show's beginnings all the way to Emmanuel Macron when it was eventually put to rest. The puppets of Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande were central figures during their real life selves' respective mandates, and were subjected to ''much'' TakeThat (and the puppet of Chirac [[BreakoutCharacter became the show's absolute fan favorite]] and de facto {{Mascot}}). Charles de Gaulle showed up here and there, either in historical events recreations or with angel wings in Heaven (Georges Pompidou - if mentioned at all - was AdaptedOut, and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was portrayed almost exclusively as a ScatterbrainedSenior in retirement.

* ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'' (1988-2018) was the definitive political satire show on French TV after the death of the ''Bébête Show''. During its 30 years of existence, every president was caricatured from François Mitterrand at the show's beginnings all the way to Emmanuel Macron when it was eventually put to rest. The puppets of Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande were central figures during their real life selves' respective mandates, and were subjected to ''much'' TakeThat (and the puppet of Chirac [[BreakoutCharacter became the show's absolute fan favorite]] and de facto {{Mascot}}). Charles de Gaulle showed up here and there, either in historical events recreations or with angel wings in Heaven, and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was portrayed almost exclusively as a ScatterbrainedSenior in retirement.

* ''Series/LeBebeteShow'' (1982-1995) was the definitive French political satire show of TheEighties and had Kermitterrand (François Mitterrand's caricatured head on the body of [[Series/TheMuppetShow Kermit the Frog]]) as central figure. Former president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing wasn't spared by the show either.
* ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'' (1988-2018) was the definitive political satire show on French TV after the death of the ''Bébête Show''. During its 30 years of existence, every president was caricatured from François Mitterrand at the show's beginnings all the way to Emmanuel Macron when it was eventually put to rest. The puppets of Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande were central figures during their real life selves' respective mandates, and were subjected to ''much'' TakeThat (and the puppet of Chirac became the show's absolute fan favorite). Charles de Gaulle showed up here and there, either in historical events recreations or with angel wings in Heaven.

On the other hand, Macron and his majority have committed to supplying UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} with weapons and special trainings to help against the UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}n invasion since early 2022, although comparatively less so than other Western powers.

The longest-serving President and the first left-wing President of the Fifth Republic.\\
In office, he and his Socialist Party initially attempted to follow a left-wing, Keynesian "reflationary" program under Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy, which proved successful in reducing poverty and inequality within France and improving welfare and social services, but had to be abandoned after it led to capital flight, worsening trade deficits and problems with France's adherence to the [[UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion Exchange Rate Mechanism]]. For the rest of his term after Mauroy's resignation, governance followed a centrist approach, referred to as the ''"tournant de la rigueur"'' (turn towards austerity), which included fiscal restraint and abandonment of further attempts at nationalisations. Some of his term's policies (increased minimum wage, abolition of the death penalty, solidarity tax on wealth or reduction of the legal workweek to 39 hours), have survived to this day despite [[ZigZaggingTrope being at times repealed]][[note]]The solidarity tax on wealth was canceled in 1986 when the right won elections and Jacques Chirac became Prime Minister, only to be reinstated in 1988 when the Socialists won snap elections[[/note]] or failed to be implemented initially[[note]]Mitterrand had initially promised a 35-hour workweek, which Mauroy could not deliver. Jospin ultimately succeeded in creating it in 2000.[[/note]].\\
Mitterrand's term saw other important achievements like the removal of the government's monopoly on broadcasting and the appearance of private TV channels (the first being Canal+), increased spending on education, healthcare and benefits, the creation of the Minimum Insertion Revenue that guaranteed a minimum level of income to those deprived of all other forms of income, the regularisation of [[TheIllegal unauthorised immigrants]], the adoption of the Gayssot Act on hate speech and Holocaust denial, and the passage of the first decentralisation laws.\\

Controversially, Mitterrand [[ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime ordered the bombing]] of Greenpeace's ''Rainbow Warrior'' ship in 1985, played a very blurry and uncertain role in the Western involvement during the UsefulNotes/{{Rwanda}}n Genocide (1994), with accusations of UsefulNotes/MisplacedNationalism and favoritism towards the fallen Rwandan dictatorship from the USA and the following pro-US dictatorship.\\

He was triumphally reelected in 1988 (54%) but it didn't last, and his Prime Ministers after 1988 presided over a long string of scandals that tarnished his and the socialist party's reputation, from the usual corruption (Pechiney scandal) up to supposedly knowingly giving haemophiliacs [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infected_blood_scandal_(France) HIV-infected blood]], dodgy party finances (Urba affair) and wiretaps at the Elysée, in addition to being torn by [[WeAreStrugglingTogether factional fight]] at the 1990 Rennes Congress. By the end of his term, the Socialists and their allies had become so unpopular they'd suffered [[LandslideElection crushing defeats]] in the local and parliamentary elections of 1992 and 1993.\\
He was [[OpenSecret revealed]] in 1994 to [[OldShame have held a bureaucratic post in Pétain's government]] before joining LaResistance, even receiving a medal from Pétain himself. In fact, many French already knew it and didn't really care, as allegiances at the time were often blurry.\\

Mitterrand, who had become very unpopular, saw a surge of his popularity when the existence his out-of-wedlock daughter, Mazarine Pingeot, was made public in 1994. First, Mitterrand took care of his daughter. Instead of hiding her far away from him, he secretly raised her while he was president[[note]]When French people talk about "family values", they are talking about being a good parent and not abandoning your kids. This is [[ValuesDissonance very different]] from the American definition of the term, which is basically a synonym for "conservative Christian values."[[/note]]. Second, as HolierThanThou attitudes are seen by a great majority of French citizens as hypocrisy, only a few of Mitterrand's enemies criticized him about this. Giscard knew about Mitterrand's double life since TheSeventies and never used it publicly against him.\\
Mitterrand was famous for his good writing skills and some think he could have become a great full-on writer.\\

François Mitterrand was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1981 and kept it hidden from public attention [[TheReveal until 1992]], as it would have seriously prevented his chances to be re-elected. He died of it at age 80 in 1996, less than eight months after the end of his mandate. All in all, Mitterrand appears as a very RoundedCharacter.\\

The definitive French political satire show of his era, ''Series/LeBebeteShow'', had a caricature of him as main host, Kermitterrand (a fusion of Mitterrand and [[Series/TheMuppetShow Kermit]]).

!!!'''Jacques Chirac''' (1995-2007)
[[quoteright:140:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chirac_3082.jpg]]

-> '''Political stance''': center-right, RPR (neo-gaullist)
-> Born November 29, 1932. Died September 26, 2019.

Chirac had an old reputation for being a crook and a liar, and yet always managed to remain sympathetic to the public. Apparently, he [[CommonKnowledge succeeded in winning the 1995 elections]] because a puppet satirizing him in the news-comedy show ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'' was very funny and likeable to viewers. His 2002 LandslideElection victory was because his opponent in the second round was a far-right nationalist (see below).\\
He also had a bit of a reputation as unprincipled: he campaigned in 1995 promising to "heal the social fracture" only to appoint a government led by Alain Juppé that tried to push reforms of public services, controversially announced more atomic tests in 1995 before abandoning them after mere months, made the ''Call of Cochin'' in 1976 criticising the EEC-friendly Gaullists only to become a strong EU supporter in office, and so on.\\
Some would [[NeverLiveItDown never live down his 1991 comment]] that there were too many immigrants in France, not to mention ''"the noise and the smell"'' that'd badger honest French citizens[[note]]He was actually quite drunk when he made that idiotic statement[[/note]].\\

Chirac had previously been Prime Minister twice (between 1974-1976, under d'Estaing, and 1986-1988, under Mitterrand) and Mayor of Paris between 1977-1995, during which time he was accused of corruption and ultimately convicted after leaving office. Giscard d'Estaing holds a lifelong grudge against him because he feels that Chirac intentionally split the vote and helped Mitterrand win in 1981.\\

His first government, led by Alain Juppé, bombed so spectacularly (proposed changes to labour laws and public healthcare in 1995 led to France's largest strikes since 1968) he dissolved the National Assembly and called fresh elections to try and get a stronger mandate. This move [[HoistByHisOwnPetard backfired]] when a leftist coalition won a large majority, leading to a cohabitation with the socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2002 (who pursued similar programs of reducing inequality and improving benefits and public services as Mauroy, but luckily without scaring off business).\\
Chirac became famous overseas for opposing the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which caused a surge of popularity for him in France.\\

Despite being relatively unpopular during most of his time in office (he probably wouldn't have been re-elected had he faced a mainstream opponent in the 2002 runoff), today his reputation has been rehabilitated to that of a cultural folk hero - think UsefulNotes/BillClinton in the United States and you'll have a basic idea. This has baffled most historians and political scientists, [[http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21646781-old-warhorse-suddenly-cool-jacques-back who note that his presidency is hardly something the French can be proud of]]. An explanation might be that his successors' presidencies make his look like something of a lost golden age. He also grew something of a {{memetic|mutation}} MagnificentBastard reputation[[note]]with memes such as "Smooth pimping, suave gangsterism"[[/note]] as he both masterfully played his sympathetic reputation and avoided being condemned for his numerous affairs for a long time, and the one time he got condemned to prison, he was too old to serve.\\

Thanks to the 2002 election, Chirac simultaneously holds the record for winning a presidential election with the lowest percentage of votes (19,88% in the first round) and highest percentage of votes (82,21% in the second round), because the far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen had just enough votes to beat the socialist candidate Lionel Jospin in the first round (16,86% to 16,18%) thanks to vote-splitting among the left but drew next to no sympathy outside of his electorate. Chirac's winning margin is actually the highest in the history of French presidential elections, beating Louis-Napoleon's 74% landslide in 1848.\\
Chirac was also an unrepentant philanderer and had countless short affairs, so much so that he got the nickname "Five minutes, shower included". Despite this, his very Catholic wife Bernadette (who knew this all too well) never left him.\\

The Roman entrepreneur Preposterus in ''[[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} Obelix & Co.]]'' (1976) is a caricature of Chirac, who was then in his first term as Prime Minister.

!!!'''Nicolas Sarkozy''' (2007-2012)
[[quoteright:140:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sarkozy_4817.jpg]]

-> '''Political stance''': free-market right, UMP (post-gaullist)
-> Born January 28, 1955.

When serving as Minister of the Interior, he was famous for his harsh anti-immigrant stance and getting rough against crime. His election as President was largely based on his charisma and the fact that he managed to attract numerous votes from the far-right, nobody else dared to do it before him. Once elected, at the top of his popularity, he had the not-so-brilliant idea of partying in a very posh restaurant, having a holiday on a luxury yacht and tripling his own wage in the days following his election - suffice to say his socialite lifestyle during a time of economic crisis and painful austerity policies pissed off voters quite fiercely.\\
He divorced his wife (his second divorce) and remarried supermodel Carla Bruni (not exactly [[MyGirlIsNotASlut First Lady material]]), who is often the focus of celebrity magazines. He and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy had a daughter, Giulia, in November 2011, becoming the first French president to become father during his term.\\

One of the biggest things the public would NeverLiveItDown is him replying ''[[MemeticMutation "Get lost, dumbass!"]]''[[note]]"Casse-toi, pauvre con !"[[/note]] to a man who refused to shake his hand (''"Touch me not, you're dirtying me!"'')...[[note]]"Touche-moi pas, tu me salis !"[[/note]] on TV, too! While one of his ministers was telling him "We're being filmed right now").\\
He was often mocked for his lower-than-average size and bad temper, which has brought many comparisons of him to [[TheNapoleon Napoléon Bonaparte]]. Countless songs and parodies have actually been written about his temper; even German Chancellor UsefulNotes/AngelaMerkel once [[http://citizenzoo.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/double-vie2.jpg compared him]] to French actor Creator/LouisDeFunes.\\

Sarkozy has been heavily criticized for trying [[{{Nepotism}} to help his own son become the president of the "EPAD"]], one of the biggest business districts in the world, while said son was only 23 years old, and had no qualifications whatsoever.\\
His unpopularity also comes from his cold disregard for massive popular protests, unlike Chirac who at least knew when to back down. He passed his first university reform (2007) during the summer vacation just after he was elected and the second one (2009) caused an unprecedented ''three month national strike'' in French universities. In 2008, he made the parliament ratify the Lisbon Treaty, even though the same treaty had been rejected by referendum in 2005[[note]]More precisely, the rejected treaty was the "Treaty to establish European Constitution", but the Lisbon Treaty is essentially the same thing, just rewritten a bit here and there[[/note]]. And in 2010, the reform to push back the retirement age ([[ILied which he had initially promised]] ''[[ILied not]]'' [[ILied to do]]) caused the biggest demonstrations since 1968.\\
Add to that some doubts regarding his links to billionaire businesswoman Liliane Bettencourt (France's richest woman) and some [[PresidentForLife African dictators]], as well as numerous scandals involving members of his government (corruption, racism...), and it is needless to say a good part of French people grew really, ''really'' tired of him. His subsequent loss to François Hollande was nonetheless narrow (52-48)\\

He tried his luck in the race to presidency again in late 2016 but lost the first round of his party's open primary election to his own former Prime Minister François Fillon and another former Prime Minister, Alain Juppé.\\

Other notable acts during his presidency include a constitution reform that limits the number of consecutive terms for presidents to two[[note]]There was technically no limit before that, although no president has ever run more than two terms.[[/note]] and fully reintegrating France into NATO, which is a good or a bad thing depending on who you ask.

!!!'''François Hollande''' (2012-2017)
[[quoteright:140:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Hollande_6528.jpg]]

-> '''Political stance''': social-liberal (free-market left, so to speak)
-> Born August 12, 1954.

Second left-wing President to be elected in the Fifth Republic, with the [[MemeticMutation much-parodied slogan]] ''«Le changement c'est maintenant»'' ("Change is now"), and the first non-married one.\\
He has four children from his previous relationship with Ségolène Royal (who was the socialist candidate for presidency in 2007) and his current mate is a low-profile actress, Julie Gayet. Between the two, he was with an [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen unpopular]] political journalist, Valérie Trierweiler, [[WomanScorned who didn't take being dumped well]].\\

First Secretary of the Socialist Party for eleven years (1997-2008), Hollande was also deputy of the National Assembly for Corrèze's 1st Constituency and President of the General Council of Corrèze [[note]]Jacques Chirac once had the very same functions in Corrèze. He and Hollande are good friends[[/note]].\\

His programme included reflation and renegotiation of current European austerity policies with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which he mostly failed. Other notable scheduled measures included : retirement age back to 60 for people who started to work painful jobs early in their life, slightly increased minimum wage, massive taxes on incomes above 1 million euros (shelved), capping tax loopholes, reducing the share of nuclear power in electricity generation (shelved), legalization of same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption (passed, though welcomed with ''massive'' popular protests from conservatives[[note]]most of which articulated around a group backed by the American NOM[[/note]])...\\
In the end though, his economic policies were mostly similar to those of his predecessor (unlike what his campaign motto alleged); and as an ironic result, discontent about his policies came mostly from the left, part of which sees him as a traitor, and a ministerial crisis implying a corrupt minister who lied in front of the National Assembly in 2013 didn't help.\\

He's a bit more lucky in his foreign policy, with a (for now) successful [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Serval intervention in Mali against al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)]], a difficult peacekeeping mission in UsefulNotes/CentralAfricanRepublic. Some of these interventions are seen as necessary and justified, [[DudeWheresMyRespect but do nothing for his unpopularity]]. He also had a key role in the coalition against ISIS. More controversial is the economic and military cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, notorious Human Rights offenders, and its role as the strongest advocate of the removal of president Bashar al-Assad from the head of UsefulNotes/{{Syria}} as the civil war goes on.\\
François Hollande also had to manage the 2015-2016 terrorist attacks in France (the 2015 attacks in Paris -- the Charlie Hebdo shootings and the Hypercacher hostage crisis in January, the 13 November 2015 Bataclan massacre -- and the 14 July 2016 truck massacre in Nice), the worst in France since the Algerian War. He saw a very brief surge in popularity for correctly managing the 2015 crisis, but this didn't last and the French soon resumed their usual infightings and unpleasedness (not helped by the new [[BigBrotherIsWatching surveillance laws]], appropriately criticized as "the French PATRIOT act").\\

Not helping is the fact that both his prime minister Manuel Valls and finance minister Emmanuel Macron are among the most right-wing 'socialists' France has known in the Vth Republic. They notably used article 49-3 of the constitution[[note]]It allows the executive to pass a law without vote, unless a motion of censure is voted within the next 24 hours.[[/note]] to forcefully pass a criticized economic reform. ''Three times''[[note]]While article 49-3 was used 69 times from 1976 to 1997, this practice is now considered as anti-democratic and was only used 3 times (+3 times by Manuel Valls) since 1997[[/note]]. The scenario was repeated with the "El-Khomri Law" (from the name of the then-minister of labor), a massive reform of the ''Code du travail'' [[note]]the national code that regulates the job market and employer/employee relationships in companies[[/note]] that many consider as the reform "the right never dared to do".[[note]]Leading to speculation that the reason the right rallied so strongly against the Marriage For All was because it was the only Hollande policy they ''could'' rally against, since the rest was pretty much their own platform.[[/note]] All of these triggered massive protests.\\

Late in his term, he has become even ''more'' unpopular than Nicolas Sarkozy, to all time low levels for a French president (some popularity polls had him as low as ''four per cent''). In December 2016, he declared he would not be candidate for the 2017 presidential election, which was previously unheard of in the history of the Fifth Republic.

!!!'''Emmanuel Macron''' (2017-present)
[[quoteright:140:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/em.jpg]]

-> '''Political stance''': "liberal center" / radical centrism during campaigns, hard-right once elected.
-> Born December 21, 1977.

A former tax inspector and later merchant banker, he was a counsellor for François Hollande between 2012 and 2014, and Economy Minister between 2014 and 2016, when he resigned to launch his own movement, "En Marche !" ("Forward/Onwards!"), [[FunWithAcronyms which name was built around his initials]]. Economically he has a rather classic rightwing program, favorable to free-market, the EU and deficit reduction, while leaning somewhat on the left regarding societal issues and the lack of tax reductions on salaries. While he's widely considered a spiritual successor to Hollande, comparisons have also been made to Valery Giscard d'Estaing for his centrist positioning and being the youngest French president ever elected (at 39). He's also the first president in 36 years who was not a member of one of the two main parties when he was elected (he was briefly in the Socialist Party before, just long enough to produce one of the labor laws that tanked Hollande, but showed little to no interest in that party, and left it to create his own), and odds of his victory were considered low a year before the election. But luckily for him, François Hollande didn't run for reelection, rightwing candidate François Fillon was shot down by an embezzlement scandal, centrist figurehead François Bayrou joined him, and the socialist candidate Benoît Hamon was backstabbed by pretty much everyone in his party and carried the Hollande presidency's track record on his own, leaving the way wide open for Macron who campaigned in the center despite being part of the Hollande government. The fact that a large part of the mainstream media all-but-openly supported him for months prior to the election didn't hurt either. Piece of trivia: [[MayDecemberRomance he's married to a woman 24 years his elder, who used to be his French teacher in high-school]].\\

Proclaiming himself "neither on the right nor on the left" (promptly belied by his hard right economic policies once elected), his election had some baffling effects on French politics, as it left the parliament without a strong opposition, which is unusual. While there ''was'' technically a sizeable chunk of the National Assembly that wasn't part of the majority, it was split between several groups: the rightwing party Les Républicains, who didn't really disapprove Macron's economic ''ideas'' but criticized his methods; some members of Les Républicains who wanted to be more cooperative; the center-left, who didn't approve of Macron but didn't really oppose him either; the radical left made up of the Communist Party and Unyielding France, who opposed the government in every way but were few in numbers (around 30 deputies) and the far-right/nationalists of the Front National (8 deputies). Which means there was actually very little standing in Macron's way to pass his laws.\\

Early on, he's been compared to US president Barack Obama, being a young and somewhat hip president with a charming popularity overseas (something even his detractors grudgingly admit), but dubious policies and growing unpopularity nationwide. He earned the nickname "Jupiter" (the Roman equivalent of Zeus) due to his desire for the French people to see the president as the center and key figure of the political life of the country and not JustTheFirstCitizen, like Jupiter was king of the Roman gods. The "elected king" thing is further supported by the "Benalla affair" that started in July 2018. [[note]]Said individual, Alexandre Benalla, is a close friend and bodyguard of Macron who got to that position without any advanced professional police or gendarmerie training (which is normally a requirement in the presidency's protection circles). Somehow, he got promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the gendarmerie without the required experience, was clearly seen beating up protesters, was in contact with S-file individuals (classification used for the highest threats such as terrorism) and was paid suspiciously hefty sums. The treatment of that case by French justice has been surprisingly lax and lenient compared to similar or even ''less important'' affairs.[[/note]]\\
\\
Has generated quite a few {{memetic mutation}}s showcasing a rather deep disconnection from the harsh reality most people face (if not outright contempt), such as "You want to find a job? Cross the street!".\\
\\
The "Gilets Jaunes" ("Yellow Safety Jackets") demonstrations and strikes that started on November 17, 2018 and kept going in early 2019 are the most massive and enduring protest movements seen during his mandate so far, in reaction to his government not backing away from adding new taxes that many consider as crippling for the middle class and lower classes, especially about fuels (whereas Macron's parliament majority has drastically reduced taxes on the wealthy, which fuels accusations of him being "a president for the wealthy"). The Yellow Vests protests gained momentum about other highly contested aspects of Macron's policies, such as the Global Compact for Migration, or the planned sale of profitable state-owned assets (including ''airports'') to private interests − the latter of which didn’t come to pass because of Covid. To make matters worse, there is evidence on tape of police {{agent provocateur}}s among the "casseurs" (violent protesters) to try damaging the image of the protests. The PoliceBrutality at play was called out by the [[UsefulNotes/UnitedNations UN Human Rights Council]] and Amnesty International, which is unheard of for France. A similar scenario would unfold with the protests against his retirement pension reform in 2023, although with a stronger role from the parliament opposition and trade unions this time around.\\
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His government's handling of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic proved to be yet another source of national discontent[[note]]While the national lockdown between March and May 2020 was largely accepted, Macron's positions and decisions before and after that (such as his [=180=] on the usefulness of masks and tests) have been seen as half-assed, incoherent and poorly planned, leading to measures that heavily restricted liberties and impaired the economy (many businesses such as film theaters, stage theaters and other spectacles, restaurants and so on... were closed between October 2020 and May-June 2021) without actually containing the epidemic. The French medical research's failure to develop their own vaccine has been blamed on his budget cuts and his research grant reforms, albeit internal squabbles between scientists and pharmaceutical companies' decisions to manufacture vaccines from other countries didn't help. The enforcement of the health pass (requiring vaccination to access restaurants, theaters, sport facilities and so on, also barring access to these jobs to non-vaccinated people) and mandatory vaccination for health professions has caused plenty of demonstrations in the latter half of 2021, in addition to all the previously mentioned issues fuelling anti-vaccine movements. The aforementioned budget cuts were also heavily criticized for they concerned hospitals, with nothing done to improve their capacities to treat more patients while a lot has been invested in the health pass controls. Last but not least, he caused major uproar in January 2022 when he declared being very willing to "emmerder" (vulgar French slang meaning "to piss off", but with fecal connotation instead) unvaccinated French people and deemed them "irresponsible" enough to not be worthy of being citizens anymore.[[/note]]. Himself tested positive to the virus in mid-December 2020, and recovered. On June 8, 2021, he became the first incumbent president to be slapped in the face during an official visit.\\
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Despite his growing unpopularity, he was reelected for a second term with 58% at the second round of the 2022 presidential election (against Marine Le Pen once again[[note]]42% of those 58% voted for him solely to vote against Le Pen according to polls, not out of any political adherence[[/note]]), the first president to do more than one 5-year mandate after these were introduced in 2000. This was helped by the two historical moderate right and left wing parties (Les Républicains and the Socialist Party) being essentially left in ruins (both tanking below 5% each and many of their voters joining En Marche), with France's political landscape now being divided three ways between Macron's "center" right/pro-EU party En Marche, nationalist/"far right" parties (Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National chiefly, with Eric Zemmour's Reconquête behind) and the radical left/"far left" La France insoumise of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.\\
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One of his reelection campaign's promises were to nominate a woman as Prime Minister, and he stood by it when nominating Élisabeth Borne, the second in history for the country after Édith Cresson.\\
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'''''Alain Poher''''', as Head of the Senate, [[RunningGag assured the interim]][[note]]A satirical article joked he would assure a full seven-years term if he had to keep being a surrogate Head of State. Ironically, Poher was found to be likable and honest by the French public (his biggest scandal being having a minor run-in over unpaid parking fines in the early 60's), and as such was that rare bird in politics, a universally liked politician, and even he himself joked once that the French public would trust him with anything except power.[[/note]]

'''''Alain Poher''''', as Head of the Senate, [[RunningGag assured the interim]][[note]]A satirical article joked he would assure a full seven-years term if he had to keep being a surrogate Head of State[[/note]][[note]] This did not go down well with the French public though, as the likable and honest (although he did have a minor run-in over unpaid parking fines in the early 60's) Poher was that rare bird in politics, a universally liked politician, who joked once the French public would trust him with anything except power.[[/note]]

* ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'' (1988-2018) was the definitive political satire show on French TV after the death of the ''Bébête Show''. During its 30 years of existence, every president was caricatured from François Mitterrand at the show's beginnings all the way to Emmanuel Macron when it was eventually put to rest. The puppets of Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande were central figures during their real life selves' respective mandates, and were subjected to ''much'' TakeThat (and the puppet of Chirac became the show's absolute fan favorite). Charles de Gaulle showed up here and there, either in historical events recreations or with angel wings in Heaven.

* Creator/{{Coluche}} made a few comedic sketches as the President with his "Council of the Sinisters" (instead of "Ministers"). He started a joke about running for presidency in 1981, and even considered doing it for real, then opted out under heavy political pressure.

** While it's not the movie's main focus, ''Film/OSS117FromAfricaWithLove'' is set a few months before the 1981 presidential election, and occasionally refers the context. The last scene is a joke referring [[spoiler:Bokassa diamonds' scandal]]. Giscard-d'Estaing and Mitterrand are mentioned but don't personally appear in the story.