Emmanuel Macron appears intent on continuing his grip on power in France, with reports suggesting he may be eyeing a potential third term in office.
Although President Macron’s second five-year term in the Élysée Palace is quickly approaching its end in 2027, when he will be constitutionally prohibited from standing again, the 47-year-old leader does not seem content with riding off into the sunset of political retirement.
In a quote reported by POLITICO from a gathering of the youth group which supported his first presidential bid in 2017, Macron is claimed to have said: “I still need your help and I’m counting on you — for the next two years… in five years, in 10 years. You’ll be here, and count on me, I’ll be here with you.”
In contrast to the term limit system in the United States, which limits a president to two terms in total, the French constitution only limits presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms, meaning that Macron could theoretically take a five-year hiatus and run again in 2032, when he would be only 54 years old.
Should he win a third term in office, Macron could potentially become the longest-serving president of France, overtaking socialist François Mitterrand, who led the country from 1981 to 1995.
Macron has previously been reported as expressing disdain for term limits. “Not being able to be re-elected is disastrous bullshit,” he is said to have declared in 2023.
Aside from running for a third term, the president could alternatively take a page from his predecessor, François Hollande, who now sits in the French National Assembly as a deputy for the Socialist Party.
However, it is unclear if Macron, who once proclaimed that he would govern France like Jupiter, the Roman king of the gods, would see such a position as befitting his self-styled grand stature.
Alternatively, the former Rothschild investment banker could take the “fail up” approach often adopted by European politicians, such as ex-Dutch PM Mark Rutte, who took on the role of NATO Secretary General after his government collapsed in the Netherlands, or Ursula von der Leyen, who landed the role of European Commission President — with the help of Macron — after her disastrous term as German Defence Secretary.
Regardless, the impending end of the Macron era — at least for the time being — has left the political establishment in disarray as it scrambles to find a successor, with obvious choices such as former PM Gabriel Attal lacking consensus and political gravitas.
Yet, the globalist faction in Paris may benefit from the judiciary seeking to ban the current frontrunner, Marine Le Pen, who faces a potential five-year ban from running for political office over alleged misuse of EU funds.
Should the ban be upheld on appeal, the populist National Rally party would likely pin its hopes for the presidency on 29-year-old firebrand Jordan Bardella, who, despite his relative youth, has cemented himself as a credible candidate and currently stands as one of the most popular politicians in the country.
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