The Macron Effect

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When Emmanuel Macron followed up his victory in France’s presidential election with another win in the parliamentary elections, he looked set to carry out his promise to change France. Journalists wrote excited articles explaining how the Macron 'effect' was going to make France one of the world’s major powers and end Germany’s economic dominance of Europe. Macron even said he wanted to rule as a ‘Jupiter’, above the political fray but just a few months later things were already looking very different. The reality of enacting painful economic reforms has led to protests on the streets and a plummeting popularity rating. BBC Paris correspondent, Lucy Williamson, looks at Macron’s first 12 months in office and examines what he is actually doing for France – and Europe. (Photo: French President Emmanuel Macron answers reporters in the White House, 2018. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)