French President Emmanuel Macron has enjoyed a headline-grabbing week of appearances, from hosting international CEOs in the sumptuous surrounds of the Palace of Versailles, to being feted by the world elite at the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland, before touching down in rural France to woo the country’s agricultural sector. The packed agenda was the latest example of the young president’s skill in occupying the media agenda and promoting double-pronged policies that have anesthetised public opinion, argues Mediapart editor François Bonnet, along with political and economic correspondents Romaric Godin, Manuel Jardinaud and Ellen Salvi, in this joint analysis of Macron's impressive mastership of the art of spin.
Last week proved to be a wonderful moment for French President Emmanuel Macron. The candidate who drew just 24% of votes cast in the first round of the presidential elections in April last year (a fact worth underlining), he now occupies, to no resistance, virtually all of the political and media stage in France. While editorialists of the major media are in raptures, the choir of political opposition is losing its voice.
