How Nicolas Hulot resignation completes bad summer for President Macron

TheThe shock resignation of high-profile environment minister Nicolas Hulot live on French radio on August 28th has set the political tone as business resumes after the summer break. As Hulot himself made clear, no one in the government knew he was about to quit. Neither the prime minister Édouard Philippe nor Emmanuel Macron, even though the night before Hulot had seen the president at a meeting with the national hunting federation. The lobbyist for the hunting and shooting industry, Thierry Coste, was also present at that gathering and for Hulot, who was number three in the government and who denounced the influence of lobbyists in his resignation remarks, this appears to have been a humiliation too far.

When President Macron was asked about the resignation during a visit to Copenhagen, he spoke about it being a “personal decision”. He made clear his respect for Hulot and also for the “freedom” of the man who was his minister for environmental transition and solidarity for a little over a year. “I think that in 15 months this government has done more than other on this issue over a similar period,” said the president, before setting out a few examples such as the government's stance on the use of hydrocarbons and the closure of coal-fired power stations.

“This isn't a struggle that's accomplished overnight, you have to face up to reality, that's better than catchphrases,” added the French head of state. A little earlier in the morning prime minister Édouard Philippe had emphasised the government's “complete determination” on environmental issues, even though in a recent lengthy interview published in the Journal du Dimanche the prime minister failed to mention the subject. Speaking on Tuesday 28th August Philippe said these issues “must be treated seriously, in their right order, with an awareness of the urgency but also of the credibility of the commitments”.

For the prime minister it was a way of underlining that the problem stemmed not from the government's political decisions and priorities – as Nicolas Hulot clearly indicated – but from the poor comprehension that the latter had of political timescales. “It's the flipside of having ministers who come from civil society who aren't really aware that political work takes time,” a member of the president's entourage told Mediapart, after the president had spent the morning outlining the progress made in the past year.

The repeated use of such language by the government and the ruling party, La République en March (LREM), is aimed at counterbalancing the vitriolic declarations made by the popular former television presenter, in order to stop the idea taking hold that the government's record on the environment is as poor as he suggests. It is the hallmark of the rhetoric under Macron: to label criticism as stemming from bad faith or a lack of understanding. This thus avoids the government's policies themselves coming under scrutiny.

Though Nicolas Hulot may have “dared to hope” that his resignation was not a futile gesture, the Élysée has clearly done all it can to limit the symbolic and political impact of his shock resignation. “We knew it was a risk,” says someone in Macron's entourage about Hulot's appointment last year. Ever since he was put in charge of the Ministry of Environmental Transition and Solidarity some in government circles have felt that the “price to pay” when he did eventually leave would be markedly higher than the benefit from getting such a high-profile and popular figure on board in the first place.

That was why the government number three has received such unswerving support from the president and prime minister over the months. This is despite the fact that in the corridors of power Hulot has been described as someone who was “unmanageable” and who “did things his own way”. At the beginning of 2018, when Hulot was accused of sexual harassment – claims he denies – he was supported by the equalities minister Marlène Schiappa, who wrote an article attacking his accusers.

In general, however, Nicolas Hulot had the feeling that he lost too many battles when it came to important political decisions. And because he was a key figure in the Macron government his resignation now is a major issue for the administration. And the reasons for his departure – including his criticism of the power of lobby groups – are even more of an issue. Yet once again the government disputes this, as it does on every issue whenever anyone tries to point out its mistakes and follies.

Always someone else's fault...

Because it turns a deaf ear to criticism, the government has ended up turning in on itself. Emmanuel Macron's stubbornness and his top-down conception of presidential power - something observed early on in his term of office – have been laid bare by the affair involving his security aide Alexandre Benalla. That episode, which emerged in early July, marked the start of the president's difficulties. The head of state was hoping that once the summer break was over he would then be able to regain the mastery of events at the start of the new political year with an agenda over which – until now – he prided himself on having control. The surprise departure of one of his leading ministers has shattered such illusions.

Above all, this resignation is another item on a now lengthy list of fundamental problems that the veneer of presentation can no longer disguise. These problems are not just environment ones but economic ones too. Having put its emphasis on economic growth led by supply-side policies through tax cuts, the government has had to accept that the objectives it had fixed will not be met.

For in the second quarter France's economy grew by 0.2%, half the eurozone average and three times lower than the OECD average. This is despite the billions of euros in tax handouts coming from the removal of the wealth tax and the introduction of a taxation limit of 30% on income from capital. Nonetheless on this issue as on other the government has no intention of changing direction or re-thinking its pro-business policies and prefers to bring in austerity measures which will directly hit pensioners and people who receive state payments.

According to those close to him, having been weakened by the Benalla affair – which involved him personally – President Macron has chosen to rise above events by focussing on international issues, ahead of the European elections in May 2019. A year ago, with a world confronted with President Donald Trump' s unpredictability, an Angela Merkel on the wane and Theresa May's problems over Brexit, the French leader was a potential leader on the diplomatic scene.

But in the space of  a few months the far right in Europe has dominated the European agenda, pushing President Macron's plan to reform Europe into the background. The “strong multilateralism” that he wanted to bring about in Europe has come up against a changed world scene. Though, as he repeated again at the Élysée on August 27th during a conference for French ambassadors, he wants to “build new alliances”, in reality Emmanuel Macron remains very isolated.

As the French president himself recognised: “There are doubts everywhere in Europe. The rise of the extremes is virtually a general rule and France stands as an exception.” He added: “Is that a reason to give up? Would that be a reason to say we're wrong? Quite the contrary.” Since the start of this presidency the government has constantly sought to justify its domestic policy, saying that the economic and social measures implemented would carry weight during the European negotiations on reforms when the time came. Yet discussion of those European reforms were again pushed back at the European Council in June 2018.

Emmanuel Macron prides himself on anticipating events but for several months now has been forced to react to unforeseen developments. In the short term he has had to find a replacement for the number three in the government, forcing him into a reshuffle he had hoped to carry out at a later date.

Though they are all different in nature, Nicolas Hulot's resignation, the Benalla affair, the headaches over preparing the budget for 2019, the crisis in multilateralism and in Europe, are all indications of the weakness of a government that is now forced to adapt to events every day - without managing to impose its own genuine alternatives. It is a government which is content with itself and one for whom the fault, of whatever kind, always lies with someone else.

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• The French version of this article can be found here.

English version by Michael Streeter