Frankreich diskutiert über ein Foto. Es zeigt Präsident Macron mit seiner Frau am vergangenen Sonntagmorgen, dem Wahltag der von ihm persönlich vorgezogenen Neuwahlen zur Assemblée nationale, wie er in Jeans und Lederjacke, mit Baseball Cap, Turnschuhen und Sonnenbrille durch das nordfranzösische Seebad Touquet spaziert. Die Passanten scheinen ihn in seinem Aufzug teilweise gar nicht zu erkennen und eher verblüfft als begeistert zu sein. Seit Tagen werden die Bilder diskutiert wie ein politischer Skandal.
„So rock, so cool“?
Das Outfit sei „pérturbante en plein chaos politique“, schimpft die Zeitschrift „Closer“, verstörend im politischen Chaos; der entspannte Look passe laut „Parisien“ „überhaupt nicht zu der Katastrophe, die gerade seine politische Familie trifft“; auch der Moderator Laurent Bazin erklärt den Auftritt, „so cool, so rock“, zur „Katastrophe in einem Moment, in dem Macron Neuwahlen provoziert hat, die das Land in die Arme des Rassemblement National treiben könnten“. Was soll der Präsident denn an einem Sonntagmorgen sonst tragen, könnte man einwenden – aber Macron befindet sich an einem Punkt, an dem er es niemandem mehr recht machen kann. Er hatte gehofft, bei Neuwahlen vor der verkrachten Linken mit seiner Partei wenigstens auf Platz zwei zu landen und in Stichwahlen die Franzosen zu zwingen, für ihn zu stimmen, um eine rechtsextreme Führung zu verhindern. Jetzt hat sich die Linke überraschend zusammengeschlossen und beim ersten Wahlgang Macrons Bündnis auf den dritten Platz verwiesen. Er wird also vermutlich mit einem linken oder einem rechtsextremen Premier regieren müssen.
But what is it about the “tenue décontractée” (AFP) that is making commentators so upset – which can mean “relaxed” but can also literally mean “released from all contracts”, which may already be a key to understanding the excitement. Nathalie Saint-Cricq, television journalist for “Télématin”, also finds Macron’s “Tom Cruise look” impossible and says it is part of the president’s conscious image policy. But what does this outfit represent? Firstly, it is reminiscent of a bomber pilot and thus fits in with Macron’s self-portrayal as a warrior; only recently he posed for official photos as a boxer with tense biceps. The Touquet look could also be interpreted as an image of commitment. American presidents wear such things when they give interviews on aircraft carriers.
Under Chirac’s trench coat fit a people
Unfortunately, Macron’s look is not seen as a declaration of war on the far-right, but as an expression of the aloofness of an elite alienated from the people. While the far-right challenger Jordan Bardella appears in office suits, emphasizes his origins from the banlieue and conceals his wealthy father, Macron, the former investment banker, walks through Touquet with his wife – the press emphasizes that she is wearing an expensive denim jacket from Vuitton – in the look of a wealthy private citizen who has already taken a leave of absence from his country’s problems. The logo on his cap bears the abbreviation of the presidential personal protection unit GSPR. Is he protecting himself here now?
Macron’s look was reminiscent of Sarkozy, a critic said on television, the former president who was considered egomaniac and addicted to luxury after his election victory when he first went on a lavish vacation on the yacht of billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who later became the patron of the right-wing radical Éric Zemmour. The fashion of his predecessor Jacques Chirac was also a statement and part of political iconography: like a Madonna wearing a protective cloak, the whole nation seemed to fit under his wide trench coats.
Macron’s form-fitting jackets are only suitable for him. The Touquet look is seen as frivolous. In a crisis situation, the president must appear appropriately serious and not in a decorative, militarized look that the rich like to wear when they go golfing. According to “Femme Actuelle”, Macron wears leather jackets from “Redskins”, a brand whose name already combines the extreme right and the left. They would be a fashionable echo of the extremes that Macron could now have to deal with.
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