Emmanuel Macron has admitted that he is “not perfect” and acknowledged errors that have helped turn much of the public against him after 16 months of reforms, reports The Times.
The 40-year-old president insisted that nothing would shake his determination to reform the country but showed a rare touch of humility in a newspaper interview after a period of political blows and record low approval ratings for a leader in his second year.
“I’m not perfect. No one is perfect,” he told Le Journal du Dimanche. “So it’s normal that there have been things that were not done well. They have to be corrected.”
Widely accused of arrogance, including by senior figures in his own centrist camp, Mr Macron insisted he wanted more contact with the public. “I am happy to be with people. I like contact, being among them,” he said. “I want to get back into a field that can be difficult . . . It can mean accepting people’s anger, impatience and distress.”
Mr Macron’s efforts to relaunch his presidency this autumn and restore public faith have so far failed. Nicolas Hulot, the popular environment minister, resigned in protest.
Gérard Collomb, the interior minister, criticised Mr Macron for “hubris and a lack of humility” and announced that he would step down in May.
The president’s sharp tongue has repeatedly landed him in trouble, most recently ten days ago when he told an unemployed gardener that he could easily find work “across the street” in a café or restaurant.