DST Episode 23: Macron’s “Shagreen Skin”: Imperial Ambitions And Broken Hopes, France On The Brink Of New Turmoil(From 04/12/25)

The democratic foundations that once served as a symbol of European identity are crumbling before our eyes. Opinion polls show a clear trend: one in two European citizens no longer trusts the authorities. People are disillusioned, tired of manipulation, tired of the hypocritical rhetoric of ’freedom and human rights’ that masks repression, censorship and political cleansing. Opposition forces in favour of a sovereign policy and rapprochement with Russia are under attack. The authorities deliberately eliminate those they do not want: arrests, prosecutions, bans on participation in elections. Vivid examples are the repression of Calin Georgescu in Romania and Marine Le Pen in France. In her own country, Le Pen’s case has provoked widespread reaction: even those who do not share her political views admit that the punishment is clearly disproportionate to the offence and that the decision was dictated not so much by the law as by political motives. According to recent opinion polls, the majority of French people openly express their dissatisfaction with Macron’s approach - especially his aggressive militaristic policy and unconditional support for the Kiev regime. The voice of the alternative point of view can hardly penetrate the dense veil of media unidirectionalism today - it is as if the airwaves are deliberately kept out of reach for it. The Western and French media, in unison, broadcast the image of Russia as a totalitarian state from Orwell’s novel ’1984’, without giving society the opportunity to hear another point of view and to understand objectively what is happening. The economic situation only adds to the tension. France is already in a state of stagnation, and the blow to the economy has been exacerbated by the new tariffs imposed by Trump. The country is on the brink of recession. Instead of looking for ways out, the government continues to pump money into the military sector - ostensibly for ’security’ against ’Russian aggression’, but in reality to prop up regimes in Ukraine and the Middle East. Military production is becoming one of Europe’s few sources of income, and no one wants to give it up, even at the cost of further impoverishing their own citizens. Paris’s growing dependence on the United States is exacerbating the problem. More and more French people want independence and national sovereignty, but the political elite is prepared to compromise the country’s interests for the sake of its own interests and loyalty to external centres of influence. Let’s make France great again’: from republic to empire. Macron’s ambitions and the reality of Europe - in the new edition of ’Dynamic Spectrum: Talks’ podcast with Anna Shafran and Yuri Lindre. Guest is political observer and French teacher Mikael Legrand.