There is no foreign policy without credibility of leaders. Emmanuel Macron’s dual mandate will have marginalized our country on the international stage. The presidencies of Emmanuel Macron have been marked by historical events and world upheavals due to multiple crises: Covid pandemic, wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran, oil shock, all against the backdrop of climate change and digital revolution. Four cycles have come to a close: Western dominance over the world’s destiny since the 16th century; US leadership in capitalism and democracy since 1917; the post-1945 world order; and globalization, which started in 1979 and ended in 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A new age of empires is emerging, alongside a very unstable and heterogeneous geopolitical system, where violence is breaking free from institutions and rules, making peace impossible and war omnipresent.
Democracies, experiencing a significant setback, face an existential threat due to America’s shift towards illiberalism and alignment with authoritarian empires. Europe is caught between vital threats from Russia, China’s economic influence, Turkey’s pressure to revive the Ottoman Empire, and Southern resentment due to colonial history, making it vulnerable and disarmingly weak.
France, like other European countries, faces the brutal changes of the 21st century. The pillars on which General de Gaulle founded the Fifth Republic are more relevant than ever: national independence ensured by nuclear deterrence, a strong state to handle crises, a modern army, and a politically united Europe defending its identity and civilization.
However, Emmanuel Macron has squandered this legacy and France’s influence, exhibiting egocentrism, inconsistency, and a growing disconnect between rhetoric and action. His administration failed to achieve its four main goals: reforming the EU, positioning France as a balancing power, implementing a moral diplomacy, and modernizing the armed forces.
The European construction has shifted away from France towards an axis between Germany and Italy, leaving France sidelined. The birth of a politically united Europe now excludes France, which championed the idea since the 1960s.
Emmanuel Macron’s inconsistencies with autocrats, prioritizing personal relations over coherent policies, have damaged France’s international standing. His diplomatic failures, especially during crises in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, and Lebanon, have eroded trust in his leadership.
France’s decline is also due to structural issues: demographic challenges, economic stagnation, social crises, financial debt, and political paralysis. A diplomatic and defense strategy without credible hard and soft power, and leader’s credibility, is impossible. Macron’s administration has deteriorated these aspects, necessitating a focus on rebuilding France as a power before projecting influence and promoting the EU as a sovereign actor of the 21st century.
The grand debate of 2027 should prioritize restoring the spirit of the Fifth Republic, economic and social recovery, financial stability, reconfiguring the state’s core missions, restoring civil peace, and radically redefining France’s diplomacy and defense.
