Macron 'hardly has any friends' is 'hated by France with a vicious passion', enraged President Xi, 'failed to charm' Trump and 'deeply needs to be loved' insiders claim as he reels from election defeat
Emmanuel Macron 'hardly has any friends' and is 'hated by France with a vicious passion', insiders have claimed, as the French President suffers the consequences of last night's chaotic parliamentary election.
Macron made a huge gamble by calling the snap election - a shock decision he allegedly made without consulting even his closest advisors.
Now his country is more politically divided than it has been in decades, something the 'people pleasing' president, who wanted to shore up his hold on power, was desperate to avoid.
'He really deeply needs to be loved,' a member of Macron's inner circle told POLITICO, with another adding: 'He is the great seducer, he wants to seduce everyone... But much of France has a personal, violent hatred for him.'
They explained: 'He is too young, too handsome and too bright for many French — and it is in our DNA to want to decapitate our leader.'
A moody black and white picture of President Macron boxing raised eyebrows in France when it was published earlier this year
Participants gather during an election night rally following the first results of the second round of France's legislative election at Place de la Republique in Paris, France on July 7, 2024
Macron avoided that which he feared the most in France's parliamentary elections yesterday as Marine Le Pen's hard-right National Rally failed to scoop an absolute majority, instead suffering a shock defeat
As well as his domestic audience, Macron is said to play up to whoever he is presenting to - even making dangerous rhetorical concessions in the case of China and Taiwan.
Strongman President Xi 'easily played on Macron's "strategic narcissism"', the POLITICO article claims, with the French leader 'unprepared for the flattery and manipulation the Chinese system is famous for.'
While welcoming Xi's apparent respect for him and his office during a state visit, Macron also overstepped the mark, 'almost lecturing' the Chinese head of state in a 'highly performative' speech in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
In what is considered an 'unforgivable breach of protocol' in China, Macron's speech is said to have gone on three times longer than his counterpart's, with Xi reacting with increasingly agitated body language.
His efforts to win over and perform to other world leaders have also backfired.
While a close advisor said Macron 'hated Trump a lot... He was overconfident he could personally charm him, and it failed.'
Earlier this year, Trump mocked Macron by imitating his accent as he recounted a phone call on tax negotiations during his presidency.
Macron 'almost lectured' the Chinese head of state in a 'highly performative' speech in Beijing's Tiananmen Square
A close advisor said Macron 'hated Trump a lot... He was overconfident he could personally charm him, and it failed.'
Back in 2018, Trump taunted Macron over his 'very low approval rating' and tweeted 'MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN'.
Macron's hubris and conviction that he could charm even the most challenging world leaders extended to Vladimir Putin.
On the eve of the invasion of Ukraine, contrary to US intelligence, he insisted he could convince the Russian president not to see through his imperial ambitions.
He visited Moscow in the hope of heroically getting the dictator to back down, but instead was made to sit far away from him at a long table.
He kept a line of communication open with the Kremlin as the war got underway, but never showed any sign of breakthrough, with his advisor labelling the charm offensive with Putin 'another failed project'.
Macron was also slammed as being someone who is 'playing the character of the president of France,' with POLITICO citing his penchant for outfit changes and photo opportunities.
In one such photo shoot, he appeared to imitate Ukraine's President Zelensky as a sort of war leader - unshaven and donning a dark hoodie.
Meanwhile, a moody black and white picture of him boxing raised eyebrows in France, with a psychologist saying it was just part of his 'act' and 'posturing'.
Macron visited Moscow in the hope of getting Putin to back down - but instead was made to sit far away from him at a long table
Macron was pictured wearing a dark hoodie, jeans and a face full of stubble. Some believe it is a marketing tactic to appear more relatable, piggybacking off the popularity of Zelensky
His political posturing now seems to have landed him in hot water, with the snap election not going to plan and voters putting Marine Le Pen's hard-right National Rally Party ahead of his alliance.
In the second round last night, all three main political blocs fell far short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly.
An insider said that while his calling of the election may have been done with 'the right political instinct,' it would not be successful because 'Macron is hated by France with a vicious passion.'
While his Ensemble alliance achieved its one key goal - preventing the hard-right from taking power - its hold on power was left in tatters.
Macron's hope that his decision to call the snap election would give France a 'moment of clarification' resulted in the exact opposite, with centrist parties now scrambling to form a coalition government.
