Bloomberg: “Soon after Emmanuel Macron stunned France by calling a snap election, an uncomfortable truth became impossible to ignore: the president is an unpopular leader with a toxic brand. Dozens of lawmakers who initially supported Macron now want the president to keep a low profile as his behavior grows increasingly desperate.
”“This week he addressed the nation in a nearly two-hour long podcast in which he warned of ‘civil war’ should the far-right or the leftist bloc prevail. As the Macron brand continues to wane, his rival Marine Le Pen is only seeing her popularity rise in the run-up to the first round of voting this weekend.”