In early fall Emmanuel Macron considered Thierry Beaudet (who runs the CESE advisory group) for prime-minister position; however he later picked Michel Barnier. The CESE which started right after WW2 makes reports about French society - its latest findings are quite troubling
The research shows a deep-rooted mistrust in democracy: about one-third of under-35s dont think its the best system‚ while the general population sits at 23%. The gap between politicians and regular folks remains huge - 76% think leaders are out-of-touch with real life (this comes after those yellow-vest protests from 6 yrs ago didnt change much)
French people face tough money problems nowadays:
* Almost half struggle with basic expenses
* Many worry about sudden costs pushing them into debt
* Countryʼs GDP deficit stays above 6% for 3 yrs straight
* New taxes keep appearing to fill budget holes
Young french citizens join every protest they can find; however they rarely show up at voting stations. They talk about freedom being at risk but dont really know what it means - paris universities have lots of extreme protesters who shut down different opinions
Macrons position looks shaky: his team might quit anytime‚ old friends turned enemies and his 73-yr old prime minister wont take any games from him. French democracy needs strong leadership - something Macron hasnt shown lately