Emmanuel Macron first came to public attention when he was appointed Economy Minister in a reshuffle under President Francois Hollande’s government in 2014. Two years later, he resigned and ran for president himself, while Hollande decided not to run for re-election despite being eligible.
Born in the northern city of Amiens on December 21, 1977, Macron had a career in investment banking before becoming Hollande’s economic adviser.
He campaigned on promises to cut taxes on workers and employers while raising taxes on investment income and wealthy retirees, saying he was neither left nor right.
A relatively new and youthful face on the French political scene, Macron became one of the country’s most popular politicians.
He defeated far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round of the 2017 presidential election with more than 66% of the vote and was sworn in a week later, at the age of 39, making him France’s youngest leader since Napoleon.
Macron met with US and German leaders shortly after his inauguration, with US President Donald Trump attending Bastille Day celebrations.
Macron’s pre-election popularity quickly waned, as many saw his planned policies and reforms as favoring the wealthy, as well as what his critics saw as arrogance in government.
One of the most prominent waves of protests was by the “yellow vests” who began in November 2018 over plans to increase fuel taxes, which took their name from the high-visibility jackets they wore.
Hoping to help ease rising tensions between Moscow and Kiev as Russian troops massed near Ukraine’s borders, Macron held more than five hours of dinner talks with President Vladimir Putin on February 7, 2022.
After Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Macron joined the European Union and other Western countries in providing economic and military support to Kiev.
Following the October 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel and the start of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, Macron visited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for talks.
As Israel’s military operation in Gaza continued, Macron became increasingly critical of Netanyahu and declared in July 2025 that France would recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly the following September.
Protests against Macron and his government continued into his second term. In 2024, farmers across the European Union blocked highways to demonstrate against bureaucracy and a deal between the bloc and the South American countries of Mercosur, arguing that it would lead to free imports of South American goods that did not meet EU safety standards.
Macron took a big risk after the far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen defeated his own Renaissance party in the EU parliament elections, triggering snap elections in France.
The election left France with a hung parliament, as a sudden surge of the left-wing blocked Le Pen’s bid to bring the far-right to power in the National Assembly, but no single group secured a working majority.
Despite political turmoil overshadowing the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Games were generally considered a success. France won 64 medals, including 16 gold.
Macron needed two months to appoint a minority government under Michel Barnier, who had negotiated for the EU in Brexit negotiations with the United Kingdom.
Barnier’s government finally collapsed in December 2024, the first time this had happened in France since 1962, and a new government was formed under veteran politician Francois Bayrou.
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer formed the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” mainly made up of European countries, as well as Australia, Canada and Turkey to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
The group was created to outline plans for what they could contribute militarily to Ukraine so that Russia would not attack it again once a final ceasefire was reached.
Macron met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in southern France on August 29, the same week that Prime Minister Bayrou called a vote of confidence in the government in France’s National Assembly, which it seemed almost certain to lose.
Asked during a press conference whether he would be willing to resign to resolve the crisis, Macron said he would serve out his term until its end in the spring of 2027.
