Emmanuel Macron Research Articles

Summary of the Ciivise report "Violences sexuelles faites aux enfants: on vous croit" (Sexual violence against children: we believe you)

Following the publication of La Familia Grande in early January 2021, a book in which Camille Kouchner recounts the incest suffered by her brother, a wave of testimonies broke out on social networks under the #MeTooInceste tagline. On January 23, 2021 the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, made a commitment to victims of incest by creating the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children (CIIVISE). The commission's mission was to gather testimonies from incest victims and make recommendations to improve the identification and care of victims of intra-family sexual violence.

‘Start-Up Nation’: The Making and Performativity of an Empty Signifier

The article sheds light on the process of fabrication of a polysemous, ambiguous, and mocking French entrepreneurial expression – the ‘start-up nation’ – construed as an empty signifier. The fabrication of such empty signifiers in the discourses of entrepreneurship and management, what creates them and what they create, remains little explored questions. This article addresses the following question: how do repeated quotations of an empty signifier enable it to perform entrepreneurship? We trace the circulation of the expression from its first utterance in the political sphere by Emmanuel Macron, then French minister of the economy, through to the media and the scientific sphere, using a communicative analysis of Emmanuel Macron’s speeches (n = 4), press articles (n = 210) and academic productions (n = 30). We show the shifts in meaning and values that take place, in particular the way in which the ‘start-up nation’ takes on denunciatory and pejorative values, and is transformed from a political formula into a pejorative, decontextualized little phrase. Our results enrich the critical literature on management and entrepreneurship, particularly the analysis of the performativity of entrepreneurial discourse. By describing the manufacture of an empty signifier through its circulation in social space, the study reveals the counter-power potential of performativity. The results also highlight the surprising absence of an academic critical dimension.

Empathetic Leadership in Times of ‘War’ as Represented by President Emmanuel Macron

This paper utilises Stephanie Paterson’s empathic policy analysis framework as it explores the discursive co nstruction of political leadership. The research focuses on the empathy French President Emmanuel Macron used during his public speech, delivered on October 12, 2023. The study identifies two emotional discourses that shape this representation of empathetic political leadership. The article analyses the assumptions underpinning this representation and the silences (that which has been left unspoken or implied) associated with it, as well as important implications for people’s lives.

President E. Macron and the French Political Crisis in the Aspect of the Legacy of “Gaullism”

Introduction. The presidency of Emmanuel Macron during 2017–2023 was marked by the crisis of the regime of the Fifth Republic in France. The authors propose an analysis of the origins and development of this crisis. They emphasize the complex nature of the crisis, which is not opportunistic but systemic. Materials. The research is based on the data of sociological surveys, periodical materials, and electronic sources that allow us to characterize the course and current state of the political crisis of the regime of the Fifth Republic during the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, as well as the processes accompanying it. Analysis. The authors identify and analyze the manifestations of Gaullism as an anti-crisis strategy in the policy of E. Macron. The authors are describing and analyzing the growing political crisis under the leadership of E. Macron and the causes of his government failure. The authors compare the policy of E. Macron and the political strategy of Charles de Gaulle. Results. The authors conclude that E. Macron’s selective use of elements of the Gaullist strategy in order to further legitimize and strengthen the regime of personal power does not bring final success and that French society’s trust in the current government is gradually decreasing, which contributes to the deepening of the systemic crisis of the regime of the Fifth Republic. Author’s contribution. Ahmad Mulyadi prepared a material on the use of elements of Gaullism in the politics of E. Macron, S. V. Biryukov, and S. N. Chirun – on the political process and the crisis in France.

Anti-conspiracism as anti-populism under La République En Marche! (2020–2022)

ABSTRACT This article deals with the under-explored phenomenon of anti-conspiracism and its proximity with anti-populism. Based on the observation that populism and conspiracism share some similar characteristics, the research argues that the opposition to conspiracy theories is sometimes a means of anti-populists to frame anti-system discourses and anti-establishment attitudes as deviant, irrational and potentially criminal. Taking the case of France, especially under the first government of Emmanuel Macron, the article highlights that anti-conspiracism can be in certain cases a corollary of anti-populism.

Інавгураційна промова президента як дискурсивне втілення ціннісних соціально-політичних ідеологем

In this article, we focus on political discourse as a means of disseminating and reinforcing the ideologies of the ruling elite, which establish the socio-ethical and value parameters of society as a whole. As an effective tool of political communication, political discourse significantly influences the cognitive and value orientations of the electorate, shapes public opinion, and frames the perception of events and facts within a proposed axiological system. Among the various genres of political discourse, the inaugural speech is particularly noteworthy due to its rich expression of the values proposed by each president upon taking office. We analyzed the inaugural speeches of three presidents — Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, and Volodymyr Zelensky — to examine how they verbalize and pragmatically deploy national-cultural, socio-political, and spiritual-ethical values specific to Americans, French, and Ukrainians

Biopolitical Strategies in Media Discourses: Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Russia, Germany, and France

The objective of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of how media outlets in Russia, France, and Germany reported on events during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis was carried out in three stages: comparing the actors of biopolitics, examining the ideologemes of biopolitics, and analyzing the spheres in which biopolitics were implemented. The theoretical and methodological framework of this study is grounded in Michel Foucault's theory of biopolitics, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's propaganda model, and Didier Bigo's concept of (in)securitization. Texts related to the COVID-19 pandemic were categorized into four «waves» (January 2020 – March 2022) and retrieved using the keywords «pandemic», «covid», and «coronavirus» from the archives of «Rossiyskaya Gazeta», «Kommersant», «Novaya Gazeta», «Le Figaro», «Le Monde», «Le Parisien», «Süddeutsche Zeitung», «Die Zeit», and «Die Tageszeitung». The total volume of analyzed material amounts to 67.62 million words. The results reveal that state power consistently emerges as a key subject of biopower and biopolitics across all the media studied, following Foucault's traditional framework of biopower subjects. This includes a focus on the actions and decisions of government officials and institutions. Additionally, the study found that all examined media outlets participated in promoting vaccination campaigns orchestrated by the governments of Russia, Germany, and France, indicating a widespread alignment with state-led biopolitical strategies.The analysis also shows that the insecuritization of public life during the pandemic affected various sectors including social relations, the economy, healthcare, and education. Media discourse in all three countries highlighted these areas of impact, often framing them within the broader context of public and existential security.Furthermore, the study identifies notable differences in how the media in each country portrayed biopolitical themes. In Russia, media coverage placed a strong emphasis on the central government's role, while in Germany, there was a more pronounced delineation between federal and regional authorities. In France, media outlets often focused on the personal leadership of President Emmanuel Macron. Despite these differences, there were shared themes across all three countries, such as the emphasis on the importance of vaccination and the portrayal of government measures as necessary for public safety.

Emmanuel Macron: Anatomy of a Transgression

Among current Western heads of state, Emmanuel Macron is undoubtedly the most unique. Although he was only 39 years old when he was elected for the first time and 44 years old for the second time, he had never previously held an elective office. However, he shares with two of his predecessors, François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, the fact of having held two mandates. This path is in itself atypical, not to say ‘disruptive’ compared to that of all the presidents who preceded him. This term is also the communication marker not only of his victorious 2017 presidential campaign but above all a key element of his political orientation. However, if he did, at first, ‘disrupt’ the political landscape in France, this momentum very quickly died down to such an extent that the political character he embodies has crystallized hopes, disappointments and then anger and even hatred. Such reactions lead to question the real contribution of this disruption. Until now, these questions have only been partially addressed, leaving room for the implementation of an original approach which consists in postulating that this disruption actually masks a transgression. Through the prism of transgression, this paper aims to decipher this (false) disruption as his journey from 2016 as a candidate until his second term has been illustrated by a variety of behavioral forms and lexical expressions. I approach these aspects in the form of critical narrative writing, which is based on concrete details, spoken words, speeches, interviews, and other texts.

France’s Political Crisis

Owing to the far-right Rassemblement National’s (RN) strong showing in the European Parliament elections in May, French President Emmanuel Macron abruptly dissolved the French National Assembly and called for elections three weeks later. He hoped centre-right and centre-left voters would decisively coalesce behind him and against the RN. Ultimately, due to the emergence of a ‘Republican Front’ and its tactical voting, the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire alliance finished first, Macron’s centrist bloc second and the RN third. No group gained an absolute majority, leaving a hung parliament. This could have tectonic consequences for the French political landscape and European politics. If efforts to forge a centrist coalition fail, a provisional government – possibly a ‘technocratic’ one – would probably materialise. This would mean a much less audible France on the European stage; minimum spending that would drain material support for Ukraine; and new elections in a year.

Emmanuel Macron on the EU's Control of Its External Borders

Emmanuel Macron on the EU's Control of Its External Borders

French attitude to Ukraine’s EU membership: from indifference through securitisation to alternatives

ABSTRACT After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, EU enlargement rebounded from the sidelines to take centre stage in the European debate. The overall support of the EU towards Kyiv was framed by a sudden moral imperative to help Ukraine enter the EU even though it had been stuck in the perpetual waiting room of Eastern Partnership for quite some time. France repeatedly attempted to form a pan-European body and created the European Political Community (EPC), allegedly intended primarily to help Ukraine. However, France has had an ambiguous attitude to EU enlargement which is domestically a politically sensitive topic. We examined to what extent a rationalist or securitisation-driven stance to EU enlargement prevails in France. To do so, an analysis of the geopolitical ambitions of France in Central and Eastern Europe together with its pan-European projects such as EPC was carried out. Our analysis proves that despite all the political statements of support for the EU candidate states, the French ruling elite and society do not favour enlargement. Potential member states are securitised in the political discourse and potential cons of their entry are emphasised. Moreover, French president Emmanuel Macron openly stated he expects the accession process of Ukraine would take decades.

Changing the Way We Think About Europe

In the late Mathieu Segers’s last contribution to the debate on Europe, a book entitled The Origins of European Integration, he argued that European integration began with the recognition that values define Europe better than geography, and the belief that state planning is an essential counterpart to the functioning of markets. Those elements were necessary for the effort to bring Europe’s war-torn economies together after the terrible destruction of the Second World War. They were even more important to encourage the French and Germans to begin to find a common project in building Europe. The same is true today. Much of what Segers identifies in the pre-history of European integration can be found in French President Emmanuel Macron’s vision for Europe’s future. Values and planning are essential to the success of any effort by Europeans to take responsibility for their own security. They are even more important for the successful enlargement of the European Union.

(Representation of Islam’s image in western political discourse (critical discourse analysis of Emmanuel Macron’s speech

(Representation of Islam’s image in western political discourse (critical discourse analysis of Emmanuel Macron’s speech

From Quasi-Sovereignty to Full Sovereignty? The Interpretations of Strategic Autonomy and Sovereignty in the European Union

The concept of European sovereignty has been in the focus of attention since Emmanuel Macron's speech at Sorbonne in 2017. Our multidisciplinary research provides a chronological overview of the efforts to establish EU strategic autonomy and sovereignty. Concept analysis examines the link between sovereignty and autonomy and their content in political discourse. Finally, the two concepts are placed in a schema of practical reasoning to explore the future vision outlined. The discourse analysis of strategic documents related to the autonomy and sovereignty of the EU from 1998 to 2023, following the Strategic Compass and the Russian invasion in Ukraine, has revealed the difference between strategic autonomy and sovereignty and the evolution of the idea of European defense as the core of sovereignty. Attempts to make these concepts and related EU actions acceptable are highlighted.

Taxis v. Uber in Paris: technology, capital, and the sharing economy

ABSTRACT Uber came to Paris late in 2011, bringing with them a widely accepted narrative of their necessary ‘disruption’ of a stagnant taxi industry. They presented themselves as part of the ‘Sharing Economy,’ with ‘driver/partners’ rather than employees, taking a share of the profits of each trip but acknowledging no obligations beyond the use of their app. Uber broke French law, evaded taxes, and engaged in unfair competitive practices. Uber is one example of the gig economy, based on the digital platform, which has transformed the working lives of people throughout the globe, imposing on them – as many labor historians have noted – a form of work akin to the sweated piecework labor of the nineteenth century. The government of Socialist President François Hollande (2012–2017) managed to preserve a lane for taxis. His term, however, was bracketed by the conservative and deregulatory presidencies of Nicolas Sarkozy (2007–2012) and of Emmanuel Macron (2017–), who created a legal space for Uber and other platforms. Taxis survived. As this article will show, however, working conditions and the French social model have been undermined.

How ‘European sovereignty’ became mainstream: the geopoliticisation of the EU’s ’sovereign turn’ by pro-EU executive actors

ABSTRACT There is a growing body of research on the leading role of radical and populist parties to situate ‘sovereignty’ as an increasingly central element of political discourse. However, there is much less said about the response of pro-EU actors, and how they can accommodate, modify, or reject the notion of ‘sovereignty’. The article begins with the following research question: what role does ‘European sovereignty’ play in the legitimation strategies among pro-EU executive actors? Through a framing analysis of Spanish, French, German, and EU executive actors, we uncover the way in which they articulate (European) sovereignty in their speeches. We argue that the resignification of the concept of sovereignty as ‘European’ plays a relevant role in the rearticulation of European politics, mostly led by French President Emmanuel Macron. The mainstreaming of ‘European sovereignty’ has implications for power relations, as it orients European political debates towards a geopolitical perspective.

The Ideational Power of Strategic Autonomy in EU Security and External Economic Policies

AbstractThis article undertakes a comparative analysis of European Union security and external economic policies to explore the different trajectories of strategic autonomy (SA) in these two domains. In so doing, it contributes to a better understanding of endogenous drivers of policy change in response to geopoliticising pressures. Drawing on discursive institutionalism, it analyses three dimensions of ideational power: power in, power through and power over. The evidence, based on documentary analysis and interviews, demonstrates that though SA presented a more significant challenge to pre‐established paradigms in external economic relations, the role of the Commission as an ideational entrepreneur, supported by its coercive power, facilitated the adoption of the idea of (open) SA. Conversely, French President Emmanuel Macron was unable to persuade others of the adoption of a sovereigntist conception of SA in security, with the exception of defence industrial policy, where the Commission enjoys budgetary power and competences.

Реторичен анализ на предизборния дебат между Еманюел Макрон и Марин Льо Пен (3 май 2017 г.)

Abstract: The article includes results of rhetorical analysis of an election debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, which was part of the presidential candidate campaign in France in 2017. The research subject is significant in terms of rhetoric, in particular presidential and presidential candidate rhetoric in France, and the traditions of debate in the 21st century media environment and political culture. The hypothesis is that the debates during the 2017 presidential election campaign in France are an important event that contributes to the construction of the individual political image, recognition and reputation of the French presidential candidates, and that the rhetorical skills of the opponents play an essential role in the presentation of concepts, causes, vision of governance in a national and European context. The rhetorical analysis is on the debate between the two contenders for the presidency, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, which took place on 3 May 2017 in Studio 107 and which was broadcast by French media and social networks. It focuses on verbal, non-verbal means and argumentation in the debate and on the rhetorical features of media and public communication. The conclusions are based on a study of the political, social, cultural, media and communicative context in France; on the analysis of the scenario, the format, the debate hosts; and on the individual characteristics of the participants’ rhetorical and communicative behaviour. Keywords: debate, presidential rhetoric, presidential candidate campaign, media, argumentation, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. Rhetoric and Communications Journal, issue 58, January 2024

Думи на водещите броя

Issue 58, January 2024 is thematically situated in the areas of rhetoric, argumentation and philosophy. There are eight scholarly articles, divided into two sections: Rhetoric and Argumentation and Philosophy, Communication and Society. The two authors (Ulrike Nespital and Christian Heiliger) of the article “Efficacy Study for Co-Teaching in Practices in Rhetoric and Natural Sciences” are from Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany. They present the results of a study on rhetoric and more specifically on the formation of presentation skills in students studying technical subjects and science. Hilda Narch is from the Modern University for Business and Science, Lebanon and in her article “Crisis Management Communications System” she presents a theoretical overview of basic concepts related to crisis communication management. This continues a steady tradition of the journal publishing articles by authors from universities in other countries; these are scholars who are established in a particular academic field and who share their expertise as teachers and researchers. Six authors are from Bulgarian educational institutions and research units: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, University of National and World Economy, NATFA “Krastio Sarafov”, the American University in Bulgaria – Academic Library, etc. Argumentation as part of the rhetorical heritage is presented in the context of judicial rhetoric; the author Metin Ibriyamov focuses on abductive reasoning and abductive schemes in criminal proceedings; he provides a theoretical overview, presents examples and reaches reasonable conclusions on their use. Two of the articles include the results of an analysis of political rhetoric, in particular presidential and presidential candidate rhetoric, exhibited during debates. Maglena Gurkova provides a rhetorical analysis of the pre-election debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen held on 3 May 2017; she examines the history, organisation, media context, participants' behaviour, argumentation and non-linguistic means. Maryana Mihaylova analyses presidential candidate debates in Bulgaria in 2016, in particular a televised debate between Rumen Radev and Tsetska Tsacheva, and focuses on the non-verbal communication of presidential contenders in the country. The verbal part of both articles is illustrated with visual elements from the debates, which contributes to a quick and accurate decoding of the presented conclusions. Nora Goleshevska is the author of the scientific publication “Giorgio Agamben’s The language of philosophy and the language of poetry: The world in crisis”. The text is an interesting syncretic version, namely a translational commentary, which is an in-depth analysis and translation of Agamben's text entitled “Quando la casa brucia” (“When the house burns”). In this way, the reader has the opportunity to validate the scholarly analysis with the original text of Giorgio Agamben, one of Italy's most renowned contemporary philosophers, translated into Bulgarian. Stoyanka Delibeeva studies scientific publications and normative documents that refer to a topical issue and studies the influence of language learning and multilingual practices on positive identifications with the European Union at the secondary school stage in Bulgaria. The novelty of the article is to establish the affordances of Q-methodology for the implementation of research in this area. Radina Damyanova presents the results of a content analysis of social networks used by academic libraries in Bulgaria and summarizes the results in tables and charts, presenting an up-to-date picture and recommendations for improving the work of these institutions in understanding the opportunities of reaching different audiences in a fast, effective and contemporary way. The issue is interesting and useful in that it brings together both theoretical overviews and methodological statements; both interpretations from a scientific perspective and results from analyses implemented with contemporary methods.

Dancing with the devil? Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le Pen and the articulation of a new political divide in France

AbstractThis paper investigates how political challengers articulate new political divides in European political party systems and with what implications for representative democracy. Focusing on the case of France and the discourse and practices of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, the paper identifies three strategies these actors have used to articulate a new political division beyond Left and Right: the discursive rejection of traditional Left/Right politics, the combination of elements from across the Left/Right divide and the identification of each other as opposite sides on a new cleavage. Our analysis also suggests that rather than addressing the democratic pathologies associated with the traditional Left/Right party system, this new divide has largely contributed to deepen them. Specifically, the new dichotomy carries risks in terms of representative deficits, electoral demobilisation and the further legitimation of illiberal politics.