Macron is terrible. Nobody can beat him

At the beginning of the pandemic, I advanced here the theory that having declared war on Covid, the virus could be the undoing of Emmanuel Macron’s hopes for second term as President of France. Was I right or wrong? I am beginning to suspect the latter.

It’s true Macron has been a pitiful President. There’s a chasm between his extravagant promises and measurable performance. He declared French scientists to be the best in the world. They have yet to come up with an approved vaccine. He put his faith in the European Union to organise a supply of vaccines for Europe, only to see its efforts result in months of delays, even as countries outside the union, including the United Kingdom, forged ahead.

The President’s incoherent bouquet of non-medical interventions descended into farce and criminalisation of everyday life. It became necessary to complete a ‘derogation’ form to leave one’s residence. There were curfews.