Emmanuel Macron
France's president since 2017, Macron is the EU's de facto diplomatic lead on Ukraine, strategic autonomy and European defence, entering his constitutionally final year in office.
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What it is
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron is the President of the French Republic, in office since 14 May 2017. Born 21 December 1977 in Amiens, he holds a master's in public affairs from Sciences Po Paris and graduated from the École nationale d'administration (ENA) in 2004. He is France's youngest post-war head of state and the first born after the Fifth Republic's 1958 founding. His movement, En Marche, launched 6 April 2016, rebranded as Renaissance in 2022; it sits at the centre of the French political spectrum, socially liberal and pro-European, economically market-oriented. The next presidential election is scheduled for April 2027; he cannot stand again.
History
After ENA, Macron served as an Inspector of Finances, then at Rothschild & Co (2008-2012). Hollande brought him in as deputy secretary-general of the Élysée in 2012; he became Economy Minister in 2014, championing the "Loi Macron" deregulation package. He resigned in August 2016 and won the 2017 runoff with 66.1% against Marine Le Pen.
His first term was dominated by the gilets jaunes protests of 2018-2019 and COVID-19 management. He won re-election on 24 April 2022 with 58.55% against Le Pen (Constitutional Council decision 2022-197 PDR). His second term's defining domestic act was the 2023 pension reform, raising France's retirement age from 62 to 64 via Article 49.3 without an Assembly vote, triggering months of strikes; PM Lecornu suspended it in late 2025 ahead of the 2027 election. The June 2024 snap elections, called after Macron's party's European Parliament defeat, produced a three-bloc hung Assembly, with the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire first, his centrist alliance second and the Rassemblement National third.
Current state
As of July 2026, Macron governs with a minority centrist block in the National Assembly, relying on prime minister Sébastien Lecornu, his sixth premier. Domestically, his authority is constrained; foreign policy remains his principal arena. France currently holds the G7 presidency, and Macron convened the June 2026 G7 summit at Évian-les-Bains, where the group hardened its Russia line and Macron claimed a shift in the US position on Ukraine. Separately, his "Choose France" investment summit in June 2026 drew a record 93 billion euros in pledges, including SoftBank's Dunkerque data-centre commitment. His approval rating recovered to 26% in June 2026 (Elabe/L'Observatoire politique), a one-year high but still low in absolute terms, with PM Lecornu matching him exactly. France's defence budget has risen from roughly 1.9% of GDP in 2017 to above 2.1% in 2026 as Paris works toward the NATO 5% goal alongside the E5 Berlin group of European heavyweights.
Relationships
Macron has cast himself as Europe's chief security guarantor and the EU's diplomatic bridge to Washington. The June 2026 Antibes defence roadmap with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni advanced cooperation on the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air-defence system, nuclear energy and a European satellite network. The France-Italy UNIFIL replacement proposal from the same summit sought a European-led force to succeed the UN deployment in Lebanon after its December 2026 mandate expiry. At the E5 Berlin meeting in June 2026, Macron joined German Chancellor Merz, Meloni, UK Prime Minister Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Tusk to coordinate NATO posture before the Ankara summit. The Versailles dinner in June 2026, on the margins of the G7, became the venue where the US-Iran deal was initialled, with Macron credited as host-broker. Key tensions persist: Spain was excluded from E5 defence pledges over the 5% spending target, and relations with Sahel governments collapsed after France's 2024-2025 withdrawal from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
What to watch
- Whether Macron can maintain France's diplomatic leadership through his lame-duck final year, particularly on Ukraine peace terms and the NATO Ankara summit outcome.
- The 2027 French presidential field: Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement National), potential centre-right candidates and the left's ability to unite, all competing to succeed him.
- French defence spending trajectory and the delivery of the SAMP/T systems and the European satellite programme agreed at Antibes.
- EU-France relations on the budget and any attempt by Lecornu's government to pass a 2027 austerity package through a divided Assembly.
- France's Africa policy reset after the Sahel withdrawals and the closure of Air France routes to Mali in June 2026.