President Macron, who swept into power on a reform-minded landslide is now actually the least popular President in over 20 years.
Emmanuel Macron, the young and dashing President of France, swept into power promising to deliver dramatic reform. He pledged to overhaul stifling regulations and make France more competitive within the EU and global economy. His government would be a government by the people, and for the people. Yet Macron’s approval rates are slipping, and now outrage is brewing over his expensive makeup bills. Macron has been spending lavishly to retain his youthful good looks.
The past few months have been a stark reversal for the once popular President, and high makeup bills aren’t going to make the situation any better. With France’s economy stagnating and youth unemployment still hovering above 20%, many French citizens were ready for the reforms promised by Macron.
Most probably weren’t ready for the hefty makeup bills that came with it. The French President has blown roughly 26,000 euro (about 31,000 USD) on makeup services, with his aides describing the situation as an “emergency.”
Costs for makeup can quickly explode. Professional makeup artists are not cheap, and movie stars frequently pay the equivalent or even more for a touch of extra dash. Still, many taxpayers are going to feel uncomfortable with paying such hefty bills for politicians, who are supposed to be focusing on policy anyways. For people struggling to find meaningful employment and to simply secure a middle-class life, the idea of “make-up emergencies” is going to be downright insulting.
A spokesperson for the President claims that the costs were inflated due to “emergency” circumstances and would go down in the future. The makeup artists, which other news outlets are reporting as Natasha Maquillage, had to be hired on short-term notice. Now that Macron is in office and his schedule is stabilizing, costs should go down “significantly” in the future.
To be fair, Macron’s predecessor, the “Socialist” French President Francois Hollande, was accused of “Shampoo Socialism” for spending nearly 100,000 euro per year on shampoo and grooming. Ultimately, Macron’s spending isn’t necessarily out of line with past French presidents, many of which have been criticized for hyper vanity.
Similar to America’s notoriously complex tax code, France’s labor laws run 3,324 pages long.
Problem is, French voters elected Macron precisely because he promised to shake things up. Increasingly, however, Macron seems set to deliver more of the same old. Just fourth months in, President Macron, who swept into power on a reform-minded landslide is now actually the least popular President in over 20 years. Since 1995, no French President has had lower approval ratings at the 4 month mark. Currently, 57 percent of French voters do not approve of Macron.
Macron Promised Reform but is He More of the Same?
Macron’s extravagant makeup spending reeks of the same insular, vain, and arrogant political culture that French voters have grown sick of. Like American and British voters, French voters have grown sick of the status quo. Macron positioned himself economically as a moderate and general pro-European Union candidate. However, the youthful President promised to shake up the status quo by simplifying France byzantine bureaucracy.
France’s economy remains a mess, and many blame the country’s complex bureaucracy for stifling the private sector.
France’s economy remains a mess, and many blame the country’s complex bureaucracy for stifling the private sector. Labor laws are immensely complex, and some argue that unions and worker organizations have become too powerful. Similar to America’s notoriously complex tax code, France’s labor laws run 3,324 pages long. Entitled Code du Travail, 170 pages are dedicated just to firing someone, with hundreds of other pages being dedicated to wages, and other issues.
Certainly, basic employee protections can go a long way in reining in bad employer practices and exploitations. However, the Code du Travail has been lambasted by many businesses. Many claim that the code is restraining hiring, investments, and other economic activity. Macron promised to shake things up, but when a leader is urging budget cuts while spending huge sums on makeup, it’s hard to take him seriously.
