Eclipse of the Sun King

Emmanuel Macron was elated when France won the World Cup in July. The photograph of him leaping out of his seat at the Moscow stadium showed a leader at the peak of his power. Or so he thought.

Ever since then, he has been bumping back to earth. Last week, the French President took the unusual step of retiring to Honfleur for four days’ rest and recuperation. ‘His face has changed, he is marked by the weight of power,’ confided one of his team; another expressed concern about the President’s weight loss.

Part of his deterioration is self-inflicted. Macron likes to boast that he gets by on four hours of sleep, and his texts to ministers in the early hours are legendary. In the 18 months since he came to power, he has made 170 official visits in France and 66 trips overseas.

Caught off-guard by the flurry of speculation concerning his health, Macron emerged from his retreat to tell locals that ‘All is well, so don’t worry.’ ‘I’m not slowing down,’ he added. But this appearance hasn’t stopped the press gossiping about his drawn features and ‘first grey hairs’.

Macron’s weariness isn’t just down to his workload. Since July he’s suffered one setback after another. Some have been serious, others less so, but together they’ve eroded his aura of invincibility. Most surprising of all, given his poise in the first few months of his presidency, many of the setbacks have been of his own making.

None more so than the Benalla affair, the scandal that erupted three days after the World Cup final. Footage was broadcast of the President’s bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, beating up a protester during a May Day parade. The public were appalled, not just at Benalla, but at Macron’s advisers who tried to lie their way out of the crisis.