Fewer like Macron

– Emmanuel Macron has watched his approval ratings plunge as voters wait for his pro-business reforms to pay off -–but for company leaders like Pierre Loustric, that’s not a problem.

“I’m not disappointed because I know what it takes to move France,” says Loustric, who expects the lower taxes and eased employment rules pushed through by Macron to eventually help his fragrance start-up hire more people.

When Macron swept

Paris

into the presidency in May 2017 vowing to shake France out of its economic torpor, the jobless rate was stuck at 9.4%, well above the EU average and more than double in Germany.

Nearly 18 months later, unemployment has eased only marginally to 9.1% – while Macron’s approval ratings have sunk to their lowest to date. He has admitted his changes, aimed at freeing companies from a labyrinth of legal obligations, might not bear results for “about five years”.–