French Connection: Macron’s plans for Europe

What are Macron’s plans for the EU Council presidency in 2022 and beyond?

To load the audio player provided by Soundcloud, click the button below. This means Soundcloud will receive technical data about your device or browser, as well as information about your visit on this page. Soundcloud may use cookies and may transfer your data to servers outside the EU, where the level of data protection may not be equivalent to that in the EU. For more information visit our privacy policy.

Load player

PGlmcmFtZSB0aXRsZT0iRnJlbmNoIGNvbm5lY3Rpb246IE1hY3JvbuKAmXMgcGxhbnMgZm9yIEV1cm9wZSBieSBNYXJrIExlb25hcmQmIzAzOTtzIFdvcmxkIGluIDMwIE1pbnV0ZXMiIHdpZHRoPSI2NDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMzkwIiBzY3JvbGxpbmc9Im5vIiBmcmFtZWJvcmRlcj0ibm8iIHNyYz0iaHR0cHM6Ly93LnNvdW5kY2xvdWQuY29tL3BsYXllci8/dmlzdWFsPXRydWUmdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGYXBpLnNvdW5kY2xvdWQuY29tJTJGdHJhY2tzJTJGMTE0NjA5OTYyOCZzaG93X2FydHdvcms9dHJ1ZSZtYXhoZWlnaHQ9MzkwJm1heHdpZHRoPTY0MCI+PC9pZnJhbWU+

Last week, French president Emmanuel Marcon presented a massive investment plan – “France 2030”. The roadmap sketches out France’s digital and green transformation and is meant to set up the country – as well as Europe – for growth and success ahead of the French EU Council presidency. But is this strategy only part of electoral campaigning, as critics say? Or does “France 2030” echo bigger plans which the EU has already set out for the bloc? Host Mark Leonard is in our Paris office talking to office head and ECFR policy fellow Tara Varma: What are Macron’s plans for the EU Council presidency in 2022 and beyond? Can France fill the void that Germany leaves post-Merkel while forming a new government, and how?

This podcast was recorded on 19 October 2021.

Further reading

Bookshelf

Cover image:
Emmanuel Macron debates the future of Europe with MEPs, 2018

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

We will store your email address and gather analytics on how you interact with our mailings. You can unsubscribe or opt-out at any time. Find out more in our privacy notice.