Macron’s Leadership At Risk

PARIS (AP) — A parody photo appearing on protest signs and online in France shows President Emmanuel Macron sitting on piles of garbage. The image references the trash going uncollected with sanitation workers on strike, but also what many French people think about their 45-year-old leader. Macron hoped his push to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 would cement his legacy as the president who transformed France’s economy for the 21st century. Instead, he finds his leadership contested, both in parliament and on the streets of major cities. His decision to force a pension reform bill through without a vote could hamper his government’s ability to pass legislation for the remaining four years of his term.