“How is this old-fashioned? », retorts Emmanuel Macron when 20 minutes asked him, during his press conference on January 16, if “the youngest government and the youngest president are not going to pursue an anachronistic or even a bit old-fashioned policy? “. A few minutes earlier, the head of state developed at length a series of measures focused on “order” and “authority” aimed at young people which did not exude modernity: experimentation before a possible generalization of the uniform at school, deployment of the universal national service, Marseillaise compulsory, graduation ceremonies, pronatalist policy under the seal of “demographic rearmament”.
There is, in this list of “re”s (regeneration, rediscovery, rebirth, etc.), a “it was better before” far from the “new world”. And this is not the first time that we have detected it in the words of Emmanuel Macron. There is of course some of his outdated vocabulary. But also on the merits. The defense of Gérard Depardieu in “C à vous” in December, beyond the presumption of innocence, seemed at least dated. Gabriel Attal, for his part, spoke in his general policy declaration of “national identity”, “values”, “traditions”… All of which could be described as conservative, which could clash with the image of two men of 34 and 45 years old at the head of a Liberal Nation start-up.
“Older than your oldest grandmother”
In truth, the question of the president’s “real age” is not new. It even dates back to his accession to power. On May 12, 2017, just a few days after France elected its first president under 40, journalist and author Titiou Lecoq (three years younger than the new elected official), published a column on Slate.fr. It is titled: “Emmanuel Macron has never been part of our generation”. The author wonders if this young president has the same references as his generation. “Emmanuel Macron is older than your oldest grandmother”she says.
“When we ask him about his musical tastes and he doesn’t want to talk about opera, he cites Léo Ferré, Johnny Hallyday and Charles Aznavour. […] His favorite movie is The Pastoral Symphony by Jean Delannoy. A film from 1946… And The Gunslingers, like everyone. 1963. But he was around 18 when pulp Fiction and of Hate. It still counts. […] Want additional proof? Be careful, it’s a bit violent. When asked about his favorite TV show, our young president quotes ”Télématin”. All is said. »
The oldest electorate in history
Emmanuel Macron never hid this “discrepancy”, he who was raised by his grandmother: “I grew up anachronistically”, he said to World in 2018. If youth is not a political argument, the promise of a “new world” in 2017 nevertheless had all the more weight as the person carrying it was under 40 years old. We are clearly no longer there, and the conservative realignment of Macronist policy follows an implacable logic, according to communicator Philippe Moreau Chevrolet: it is electoral. “We currently have the youngest leaders in history… Driven by the oldest electorate in history! »
In the first round of the 2022 presidential election, Emmanuel Macron obtained 20% of the votes among those under 25 (eight points less than his national average) and… 41% among those over 70 (thirteen points more!) , according to Ipsos. From singles to doubles. This gap – this gap – was much smaller in 2017, still according to Ipsos. In the first round, he obtained 18% among those under 25 (six points less than his average) and 27% among those over 70 (three points more). At the time, he obtained his best score (28%) among 25/34 year olds.
Like darons
Centrist, even center left, the Macronist electorate has been since 2019, and even more so in 2022, a traditional right-wing electorate, and therefore elderly. And by speaking as he speaks, the head of state does not just talk to his electorate, he speaks as him. To caricature, Emmanuel Macron addresses young people as grandparents would do to their grandchildren: work hard, stand up straight, say thank you, stop taking drugs in front of social networks and when are you making us a kid?
Was Gabriel Attal saying something else in front of the deputies when he said “you break it, you repair it; you dirty, you clean; you challenge authority, you learn to respect it” Politically, it pays off. “Because boomers, who had a lot of opportunities in their youth, do not understand the difficulties of today,” analyzes Philippe Moreau Chevrolet. Moreover, so that the message gets across, the Macronists never talk about food banks where young people, often students, line up like never before since Covid-19. »
Shock of generations: young people lost the war
In marketing, it is always good to target young people… because you also reach older people who want to see themselves young. It’s not fundamentally different in politics. “Boomers don’t want to be told that they are old,” says Philippe Moreau Chevrolet. They therefore want to be represented by young people who speak the same way as them on values. They want to contemplate themselves in this mirror, and for us to preserve their living environment. »
A generational shock particularly favorable to the oldest as there are more and more of them: 20.5% over 65 in France in 2020, compared to 15.8% in 2000. However, they vote much more than young people: 24 % abstention among those over 70, compared to 42% among those under 25, in the first round of the 2022 presidential election, according to Ipsos. Cynically, banking on young people electorally makes no sense today. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who obtained 34% of the votes among those under 25 on April 10, 2022, admitted this (in a “very boomer” tone) during the between-rounds of the legislative elections : “But damn it, (…) vote, young people especially! […] Fed up ! They come to cry in my office, on Parcoursup, (…) and at the time of the vote, squeak, there is no one left! “.
Authority for and by everyone
For Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, Emmanuel Macron is basically the only one to have understood that the generational clash is very real and that there is a winner: the boomers. “Apart from Marine Le Pen, who does the same thing with Jordan Bardella,” analyzes the communicator. This is perhaps the real Bardella-Attal duel: for this elderly, very mobilized electorate, where the Macronists are today very dominant and where the weakness of the extreme right is structural.
Among Emmanuel Macron’s supporters, some smirk when asked if he is “old fashioned”. But no one says that the path taken is not the right one. Most often, criticism elicits a vehement response: “And why not? has been, while you’re there? », Launches an Elysian advisor. “This is exactly the policy that France needs,” assures a majority executive. Do you think that youth is monolithic? You think people on the left don’t want authority? There is a gigantic cry for help from authority. Putting them back on is the best social measure we can do in France. »
Order and progress
No one really recognizes that “their project” has changed since 2017, as their electorate has moved, or vice versa. “The Macronists have shameful electoralism,” believes Philippe Moreau Chevrolet. They do not assume to do profitable things. Of course they do this to get elected.” The president himself always covers his policy with “at the same time”. He did it again in his response of January 16. “What made our country was order and progress. I believe that there is no progress without order. And for once, we are old fashioned if there is only order and not progress. » Is this “progress” precisely, this possibility of “emancipation” from the “heritage” instilled, he says a little further on, less visible today?
In public as in private, the Macronists are convinced that for seven years they have made the right choices. And if it is difficult, it is because major reforms only produce results years later. “It’s very frustrating!”, we hear very often. But in ten, fifteen years, we will look positively at what has been done. » A sort of “you’ll thank me later” which, for once, is really daring.