Macron’s TV charm offensive to counter wave of protests

EMMANUEL MACRON is to launch a media charm offensive today in a bid to convince millions of French people that his reforms are bearing fruit.

The president will at lunchtime give the first of two crunch interviews in the space of four days as his government faces a string of disparate protest movements across the country.

Rail workers have threatened to ramp up their three-month rolling strike, students have been demonstrating over educational reforms and lawyers and judges have staged a “day of dead justice” in protest at moves to consolidate their profession.

Public sector workers have also announced they will be staging a day of protests against cuts next month.

In a bold move, the first interview will take place in a school in the Norman village of Berd’huis, population 1,079, which placed Marine Le Pen, the far-right Front National leader, in pole position in the first round of last year’s presidential elections.

The president will be speaking to Jean-pierre Pernaut, the anchorman of TV channel TF1’S lunchtime news programme with the highest viewer ratings in Europe – around five million.

Pernaut is the self-styled defender of “La France profonde” and his news hour caters to pensioners, the working class, the unemployed and rural communities. Polls suggest these are the least convinced by Mr Macron’s call for a “start-up nation” and most concerned about scaling back public services.

On Sunday, Mr Macron will face a grilling from Edwy Plenel, a former Trotskyite and founder of Mediapart, the Leftist investigative website, along with Jean-jacques Bourdin, a favourite with conservative shopkeepers and small business holders.