EU-China deal spells trouble for Macron at home
BY GIORGIO LEALI
18 March 2021
PARIS — Controversy about a deal facilitating investments between the EU and China is bubbling under the surface of French politics, and threatening to erupt into a full-blown public backlash ahead of next year’s presidential election.
French President Emmanuel Macron is under fire from both the left and the right after he threw his weight behind an EU-China investment deal at the end of last year.
The French public increasingly dislikes the free trade paradigm predicated in Brussels and selling the EU-China investment deal to voters will be particularly hard at a time when COVID-induced economic damage is fueling fears over job losses, leading to a new wave of protectionism.
