His former Prime Minister François
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2025 5:55 am
On the one hand, there are the traditionalists who defend the French “universal” values of republicanism, egalitarianism, secularism and national unity; on the other, an increasingly virulent faction – ridiculed as avatars of what they call American wokism– focuses on issues steeped in identity politics, postcolonialism, anti-racism and feminism. And beyond this debate, the country is undergoing profound political, economic and demographic changes that portend a very different France emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Politically, France is losing confidence in its parties and traditional leaders. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy was recently convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison, including two years suspended. He was tried in May for allegedly improper campaign financing during his unsuccessful re-election attempt in 2012.
Fillon was convicted of paying his wife more than one million euros phone number library out of public funds for a fictitious work. (Both cases are on appeal.) And these are just the most prominent examples of French politicians breaking the law. Some analysts attribute the wave of guilty verdicts to the activism of left-wing judges. But the main effect is to fuel a populist rejection of the entire political class as all rotten– all rotten.
Although Macron and his government have so far avoided being trapped in such scandals, the president’s position has been weakened by this populist mistrust, as evidenced by the massive yellow vests movement that began in 2018. Macron is came to power as a fresh-faced reformer denouncing politics as usual.
Politically, France is losing confidence in its parties and traditional leaders. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy was recently convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison, including two years suspended. He was tried in May for allegedly improper campaign financing during his unsuccessful re-election attempt in 2012.
Fillon was convicted of paying his wife more than one million euros phone number library out of public funds for a fictitious work. (Both cases are on appeal.) And these are just the most prominent examples of French politicians breaking the law. Some analysts attribute the wave of guilty verdicts to the activism of left-wing judges. But the main effect is to fuel a populist rejection of the entire political class as all rotten– all rotten.
Although Macron and his government have so far avoided being trapped in such scandals, the president’s position has been weakened by this populist mistrust, as evidenced by the massive yellow vests movement that began in 2018. Macron is came to power as a fresh-faced reformer denouncing politics as usual.