Macron lacks Boris’s Napoleonic flair

‘I’d rather have lucky generals than good ones’, Napoleon – or Eisenhower – was supposed to have said, ‘they win battles’.

Emmanuel Macron is a good general, but not a lucky one. Since he stood for the presidential election in May 2017, he has demonstrated strategic ability in identifying the reforms France needs to modernise its economy. He has conducted those reforms with considerable courage in the face of strong opposition overhauling outdated labour laws, unemployment benefits, restrictive practices in the national railway system and now he is tackling the over-generous pension system.

And his strategy is beginning to show positive results for the French economy. 2019’s GDP at 1.2 per cent is higher than Germany’s, job creation is up from 188,000 in 2018 to 260,000 in September 2019. Unemployment is down to 7.9 per cent in mainland France, its lowest level for 11 years. New company creations have hit 815,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019, 36 per cent up on the same period in 2017.