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2022 FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

7 of the best Macron memes from the French election campaign

The 2022 French presidential election campaign has been a fairly dour affair - elections usually are - but recent images of candidate Emmanuel Macron during his TV debate with opponent Marine Le Pen, and relaxing with shirt unbuttoned have given rise to some much-needed smiles.

Published: 22 April 2022 17:19 CEST
7 of the best Macron memes from the French election campaign
Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

One photo in particular has sparked widespread interest – and even international media coverage – and it’s from Macron’s personal photographer Soazig de la Moissonnière.

She has been posting regular sequences of ‘behind the scenes on the election trail’ images on her Instagram account, including Macron’s recent election rally in Marseille. In among images of Macron preparing for his speech, running on stage and greeting the crowd was one of him relaxing after the event was over.

Slumped on a sofa with his shirt open to the waist (well, it’s hot in Marseille), the image caught the attention of social media.

Photo: Soazig de la Moissonnière via Instagram

Combined with other images of Macron – including that ‘Zelensky’ hoodie photo from earlier in the campaign – the image quickly became a meme circulating on Twitter.

There are dozens of these circulating as people fill in their own jokes and comparisons.

The Financial Times’s chief features writer Henry Mance gave us this scarily accurate portrayal of a journalist’s life. Freelances, in particular, will recognise this all too well.

And Nicolas Quenel compared and contrasted the daily lives of journalists in different areas of the media – print journalist, radio journalist, web journalist and TV journalist.

Here’s one for classicists…

But it’s not just Macron’s chest-hair that has been gaining attention, many also remarked on his ‘bored’ face during the live TV debate with Marine Le Pen.

According to the strict rules of the debate, each candidate had a set time to lay out their policies on a certain area, before their opponent could challenge them.

Both candidates engaged in a little ‘non verbal campaigning’ but using facial expressions and body language to show that they disagreed with what the other was saying. 

Macron’s bored expression sparked many comparisons, including this from professor, author and columnist Olivier Babeau who tweeted “when your Tinder date talks without stopping and the evening is going to be a long one”.

Another Twitter user hit the nail on the head, with this picture of Macron making notes during the debate. He really did look that bored at times on Wednesday that we could believe he was writing a shopping list (milk, onions, cereal, butter).

And Emma James wasn’t the only one to wonder about his body language.

And you know you’ve made it when you’re the subject of a sketch on a US TV chat show – here’s host Jimmy Fallon paying, erm, tribute to Macron’s new look in song. Enjoy! 

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POLITICS

French PM says new government names will be revealed ‘before Sunday’

France's long-running political deadlock finally reached a conclusion on Thursday night as newly-appointed prime minister Michel Barnier travelled to the Presidential palace to present his new government.

Published: 19 September 2024 18:07 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2024 08:30 CEST
French PM says new government names will be revealed 'before Sunday'

Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s office said on Thursday that he would “go to the Elysée to propose to the president a government that is ready to serve France”.

After a meeting earlier on Thursday afternoon with the heads of political parties, Barner then travelled to the Elysée Palace on Thursday evening to meet president Emmanuel Macron.

Their meeting lasted for just under an hour and at the end journalists saw Macron showing Barnier out saying Merci beaucoup, à demain (thanks very much, see you tomorrow).

After the meeting, Barnier’s office said he had had a “constructive exchange” with the president and that the full list of names of the new ministers will be made public “before Sunday, after the usual checks have been made”.

French media reported that the full list of 38 names, of which 16 will be full minsters, includes seven ministers from Macron’s centrist group, two from fellow centrists MoDem and three from Barnier’s own party, the right-wing Les Républicains.

Listen to John Lichfield discussing the challenges that Barnier faces in the latest episode of the Talking France podcast – download here or listen on the link below

Barnier’s statement said that “after two weeks of intensive consultations with the different political groups” he has found the architecture of his new government, adding that his priorities would be to;

  • Improve the standard of living for the French and the workings of public services, especially schools and healthcare
  • Guarantee security, control immigration and improve integration
  • Encourage businesses and agriculture and build upon the economic attractiveness of France
  • Get public finances under control and reduce debt

France has been in a state of limbo ever since parliamentary elections in July produced a deadlock with no group coming close to winning enough seats for a majority.

A caretaker government remained in place over the summer while president Emmanuel Macron declared an ‘Olympics truce’.

He finally appointed the right-wing former minister and ex-Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on September 5th.

Barnier has spent the last two weeks in intense negotiations in his attempt to form a government that won’t immediately be brought down through a motion of no-confidence in parliament.

Numerous left-wing politicians are reported to have refused to serve in his government while several high-profile Macronists have also ruled themselves out, including long-serving finance minister Bruno Le Maire who last week announced that he was quitting politics.

The reported make up of the new government does not reflect the election result – in which the leftist Nouveau Front Populaire coalition came first, followed by Macron’s centrists with the far-right Rassemblement National in third – but Barnier’s hope is that enough MPs will support it to avoid an immediate motion de censure (vote of no confidence).

The government’s first task will be to prepare the 2025 budget, which is already a week late. France’s soaring budget deficit and threat of a downgrade from ratings agencies mean that it will be a tricky task with Barnier, who has prepared the ground for tax hikes by warning that the situation is ‘very serious’.

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