Emmanuel Macron has returned to the forefront of the national scene. On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, on TF1, he spoke for more than three hours in an unusual format. This format was titled The Challenges of France. Stated objective: defend his record and open up perspectives. Implicit objective: win back an increasingly disillusioned public opinion. The initial surprise effect did not long mask the impression of a strategically staged event.
Facing Gilles Bouleau, Macron began his remarks with the conflict in Ukraine. He reaffirmed his position: support without direct participation, call for a strategically autonomous Europe. A consistent stance since 2022. He mentioned the idea of a European nuclear deterrent, without specifying the modalities. The geopolitical analysis was solid, but the remarks lacked novelty.
The social sequence: a frontal opposition
The heart of the program was reserved for domestic issues. The debate with Sophie Binet, head of the CGT, crystallized the tensions. She pointed out sensitive issues: ArcelorMittal, the pension reform, the taxation of high incomes. Macron, without raising his voice, firmly opposed. He refuses nationalization, justifies his reform, rejects the "Zucman tax" on the wealthiest.
This refusal to compromise reinforced the image of a head of state entrenched in his positions. The strategically constructed stance is based on a gamble: to appear as the guarantor of reform continuity, at the risk of seeming deaf to social anger. In response to the expressed concern, he nevertheless announced an upcoming "social conference." A gesture of openness, certainly, but without a clear schedule or theme.
A rhetoric of mastery
In terms of form, Emmanuel Macron emphasized his technical competence. He relies on figures, graphs, prepared summaries. He presents himself as a well-informed president, up to the challenges. But this operational mastery is accompanied by a professorial tone. He talks more than he listens, explains more than he engages. Reflective of his vocabulary: "I fight," "I hold firm," "I do not give in." A lexical recurrence that designates a man of combat, but little inclined to compromise.
Virginie Martin, a political scientist, points out that this stance is rooted in a vertical vision of power. "Macron maintains his course. But he has stopped surprising." The televised exercise, although fluid, left an impression of cold mastery, a lack of inspiration. It lacked momentum, narrative, collective promise.
The blurred democratic horizon
The issue of referendums was approached with caution. The head of state is considering consulting the French on several subjects: end of life, family policy, institutional reforms. But he neither announced a text nor set a timetable. At this stage, the announcement resembles more a rhetorical opening than a constitutional reform in the making.
Bruno Cautrès, from Cevipof, sees in this evocation the expression of a need for "democratic breathing." But he warns: "The referendum is a double-edged tool. Poorly used, it weakens the head of state." In short, resorting to the people can be salvific or fatal. In the absence of a clear architecture, vagueness prevails.
A carefully staged scene
The program relied on a succession of embodied interventions. Political figures, YouTubers, journalists. Robert Ménard, Salomé Saqué, Tibo InShape: each carried a concern, a generation, a tone. But each time, the president took back control, with calm and rigor. No exchange really exceeded the framework. The setup resembled a political theater scene more than a space for pluralistic debate.
The integration of participants with very varied profiles aimed to create a representation effect. But the dynamic remained unilateral. Macron explained, reframed, refocused. The tone remained polite. The opposition, often predictable. The whole gave the impression of tempo control, but at the cost of spontaneity.
A presidency in decline
Beyond the content, this televised intervention illustrates a broader political reality. Since the failure of the dissolution in 2024, Emmanuel Macron has governed without a majority. He leads by decrees, parliamentary maneuvers, communication. His Prime Minister, François Bayrou, was barely mentioned, confirming the hyper-presidentialism of the moment.
The head of state relies on his words, his presence, his image. But these levers are wearing out. The audience of the program, although decent, did not create momentum. The comments in the following days were measured, even skeptical. Macron dialogues, but no longer convinces. He speaks, but struggles to project.
A singular political style
Since 2017, Emmanuel Macron has embodied a third way between right and left. His liberal economic stance, combined with occasional social inflections, has made him a hybrid figure. He claims efficiency, reform, pragmatism. But this technocratic profile, both agile and distant, is reaching its limits today. The distancing from intermediary bodies, the weakening of the link with local authorities, feed a solitude of power.
His communication, often praised for its rigor, suffers from a lack of narrative. The president no longer offers a mobilizing vision. He manages, adjusts, corrects. But he no longer unites. This program on TF1 illustrates this growing gap between an assumed leadership and an evanescent popular support.
A president facing the test of reality
Emmanuel Macron wanted to regain control. He showed that he was still there, present, precise, informed. But he also revealed a growing political isolation. Mid-term, without a majority, without a divisive but unifying project, he bets on the weariness of his opponents. The strategy is readable. But it relies on an uncertainty: how long can power last without momentum?