Ahead of elections to the European Parliament in May, French President Emmanuel Macron has written an opinion piece in newspapers in all 28 EU countries in a bid to halt the rising popularity of nationalist and Eurosceptic parties in Europe.
The letter begins and ends with Brexit.
“Who told the British the truth about their post-Brexit future?” wonders Macron. “The withdrawal into nationalism goes nowhere. It’s just a rejection without a plan.”
The French president had previously set himself up as the defender of “progressivism” in Europe in the face of a growing nationalism, which at one point he likened to leprosy.
That was before his struggle with a determined populist movement in his own country in the shape of the Yellow Vests.
EU out of touch
Now Macron is keen to offer a vision of a Europe that protects its citizens.
“The EU has forgotten the realities of the world,” writes Macron, before concluding that member countries need to “rethink” the Schengen area of passport-free travel between 26 countries.
As the EU grapples with migrants hoping for the right to settle within its borders, Macron suggests “a single asylum policy with common acceptance and refusal rules.”
He favours a more protectionist approach to some commercial sectors and the adoption of “European preferences in strategic industries … as our American and Chinese competitors do”.
And he suggests an EU minimum wage appropriate to each country.
Reaction in France
Reaction among French editorialists and politicians has been lukewarm.
“Before seducing the crowds, from The Hague to Budapest, he must first succeed in France,” ran the editorial of the right-wing daily Le Figaro, remarking that such success was “by no means assured”.
Politician Manon Aubry of the far-left LFI party highlighted what she sees as a gap between Macron’s rhetoric on combating climate change and his failure to close nuclear reactors in France.
The leader of the mainstream right wing Les Républicains party was indignant over Macron’s failure in his letter to mention the issue of Islamism. “As always . . . difficult subjects are hidden and nothing changes,” tweeted Laurent Wauquiez.
