When Emmanuel Macron was elected President of France I was pleased. Without knowing much about him, I thought he might be a welcome change to his conservative predecessors. The French electorate may not have known much about him either. They may or may not have known of allegations of favouritism against his ministry while he was the Minister of Economy and Finance. That happened in 2016 when he was invited speaker at a Las Vegas technology event that cost €381,759. They probably knew of his intentions to crack down on workers' rights as part of his reform. Still they gave him a chance.
As an inspirational leader for change in the best sense he has been a big disappointment. His pronouncement on 10 October 2017, purporting not to intervene in the "Catalan matter" while at the same time being a major interventionist on behalf of the Spanish government, underlines that disappointment.
“If I were to intervene in the Catalan matter it would be interfering in the domestic affairs of Spain and that would be intolerable for the prime minister and for the Spanish monarch”, he said.
But he also said “ I continue to hold firm to this line in my declarations of support for Mariano Rajoy - because if I don’t there will be disintegration,”
In a word he will not intervene on the side of the successful Catalan referendum for independence but he will intervene to oppose it.
There was no word of outrage, protest or even concern about the brutal treatment of voters by police during that referendum.
Monsieur Macron signals No Change for politics in France
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