Hollande protege quits to fuel rumours of challenge
Minister who claimed president’s policies turned France into ‘Cuba without the sun’ twists the knife
FRANCE’S popular and reformist economy minister, Emmanuel Macron, has resigned, prompting speculation that he will run for president next year.
The departure of the 38-year-old former Rothschild banker – who many on the ruling Left accuse of betraying the “workers” with his liberal, probusiness policies – is seen as a fresh blow to François Hollande, France’s unpopular Socialist president.
He had an unscheduled meeting with Mr Hollande yesterday afternoon to tender his resignation. The president immediately accepted it.
In a speech later in the day, he said: “I have touched with my fingers the limits of the political system. Our country deserves that we take risks for it. I am determined to do everything so that our values, our ideas, our action can transform France as early as next year.”
In a double-edged reference to his former boss, whom he referred to in the past tense, Mr Macron said he was “convinced that the French will thank François Hollande for having faced up to exceptional difficulties”.
The outspoken minister dropped heavy hints at a presidential run last month, prompting a reprimand from Mr Hollande, who reportedly said “he owes me everything” and threatened to sack him unless he respected the “solidarity” of the Socialist government he joined in 2014.
After launching his own non-partisan political movement, called En Marche (On the Move), in April, Mr Macron made his presidential ambitions even clearer last month when he pledged to lead the movement “to 2017 and to victory”. Mr Macron, who like Mr Hollande is a graduate of l’Ecole National d’Administration, France’s hothouse for future top civil servants and political leaders, distanced himself further by stating: “I’m not a Socialist.”
Once dubbed “the Mozart of the Elysée, the president’s former protégé – who has never held elected office – lent a reformist sheen to the second half of his five-year term, which began with a string of soak-the-rich measures that proved disastrous for France’s image abroad.
After taking over from his protectionist predecessor, Arnaud Montebourg, Mr Macron left liberals in no doubt as to what he thought of Mr Hollande’s punitive tax on millionaires, saying it turned France into “Cuba without the sun”.
He delighted them further by laying into the 35-hour work week, a key plank of French socialism, as a bad idea and questioning the merits of the wealth tax.
Thierry Arnaud, chief political edi- tor at BFM TV, said: “This weakens François Hollande. Although there have been dozens of other ministerial resignations in his term, these were due to political disagreements over the fact they thought he wasn’t leading true Left-wing policies.
“With Macron, there is no difference in political outlook. What Macron holds against Hollande is his lack of audacity to see through necessary reforms. This suggests he doesn’t believe that the president stands any chance of re-election.”
Mr Hollande, who is the most unpopular post-war French president, has pledged not to seek re-election if he fails to rein in stubbornly high unemployment. But in a book recounting “private” conversations with two journalists, released this week, Mr Hollande is cited as saying that he still has a “desire” to run again.
One of the authors, Antonin André, said: “This is a major blow. Today Emmanuel Macron drops the president at a moment where he is weak.”