Emmanuel Macron’s re-election poses ‘very real possibility’ of violent protests

French historian Professor Michael Behrent has warned of a “very real possibility” violent protests could return in France after President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected for a second presidential term over the weekend.
Mr Macron is widely disliked among sections of the population, who see him as elitist and out of touch with ordinary French people.
While he secured a comfortable margin – 58.5 per cent of the vote compared to his rival’s 41.5 per cent – Mr Macron was the less favoured candidate in large swathes of the country, notably in the northeast and south.
There are fears these voters could become discontent with Mr Macron’s pro-European, centrist agenda and protest, similar to the yellow vest protests which rocked the president’s first term.
Professor Behrent, who works at Appalachian State University, said there remained “a lot of anxiety, and discontent, and frustration among the French population, particularly among those who are less educated”.
“And there is a real possibility that they will not only not be on board with Macron’s reforms and his pro-European policies, but that we could see a repeat of what we saw a few years ago with these very violent street protests,” Professor Behrent said.
“There’s certainly a strong tradition of that in France, and it doesn’t seem like we have overcome that hurdle yet even if it seems Macron is very positive for the future of European institutions.”