Who is the President of France?

Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron is the current French President and also Andorra’s ex-official Co-Prince. Before joining politics, he worked in various senior positions as a civil servant and he served in the Inspectorate General of Finances as an Inspector of Finances. In 2012, President Francois Hollande selected Macron as the Deputy Secretary-General in his government. He became the Economic, Industry, and Digital Affairs minister from 2014 until his resignation to run in the Presidential election of 2017.

Early Life

Macron was born on December 21, 1977, to Francoise and Jean-Michael Macron in Amiens. He was brought up in a non-religious family, however, he was baptized in Roman Catholic church. Macron attended Jesuit Lycee la Providence school located in Amiens and Lycee Henri-IV situated in Paris. He was sent to Paris for allegedly developing an intimate relationship with his teacher, Brigitte Auziere, who he later married. Macron studied for a masters degree in public affairs at Sciences Po, specializing in “Public Guidance and Economy”. He later furthered his studies at École Nationale d'administration at one of the embassies in Nigeria.

Professional Career

After his graduation in 2004, Macron worked for Ministry of Economy as an Inspector of Finances. Under the leadership of Laurence Parisot, he acted as the deputy rapporteur as they worked to better the country financial growth in 2007. He later left the government in 2008 to work with Rothschild & Cie Banque as an investment banker. However, he had to pay €50,000 to the government for premature termination of the contract.

Political Career

During his youth, Macron provided his services to Citizen and Republic Movement, but he did not apply to be enrolled as a member. He served as an assistant mayor for Georges Sarre during his school days in Sciences Po. Macron announced his intention to run for National Assembly in Picardy using the Socialist Party, but his request was rejected. His meeting with President Francois Hollande in 2006 led to his inclusion in the president’s staffs in the year 2010.

On August 26, 2014, Macron was named the Economy and Finance Minister, taking over from Arnaud Montebourg and becoming the youngest person to head a ministry. Under his leadership, France’s economy improved and this was attributed to his business-friendly policies.

On April 6, 2016, Macron formed his party, En Marche! After a disagreement with President Hollande on public policy. The president and many other prominent individuals in the government spoke against Macron’s party, however, in June the same year, the party attracted a larger media coverage. The coverage helped the party grow, and in May 2017, Macron received an invitation from Olivier Carrto to attend the celebration of Joan of Arc libertation in Orleans. In his speech, he likened himself to Joan of Arc.

Presidency

In anticipation of the 2017 election, Macron resigned to accord his time to the En Marche! Party and on November 16, 2016, he officially announced his candidacy for the presidency where he called for “democratic revolution” with a hope of unblocking the country. After he was declared elected President, Macron garnered support from various world leaders. He pushed for the passage of labor market reforms, however, the move has faced resistance from trade unions. Macron also has sworn to block employment of cheap labor from eastern Europe in an attempt to secure the France people from what he called “social dumping.” He talked ill of LafargelHolcim company for seeking to be considered for the construction of Mexico-US wall pledged by US President, Donald Trump.