Macron feels the heat as protests ramp up

When Emmanuel Macron landed in Paris after the G20 summit in Argentina his motorcade delivered him straight to the Arc de Triomphe, where he was confronted with a vivid depiction of the anger felt by many of his citizens – and of his own place in this crisis.

One of the country's most famous monuments had been set upon by a violent wing of the “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) protest movement, and beneath the smashed statue of Marianne – a symbol of the Republic – the anti-Macron graffiti would have been impossible to ignore.

Officials believe up to 75,000 people have taken part in protests across the country, largely characterised by the familiar French display of blockades and barriers. However, as is often the case with protests of this scale, what began with a specific grievance (the price of diesel) has swelled to encompass a range of issues and, crucially, now caters to a range of political perspectives from the far left to the far right. Macron's vaunted centrism is under pressure from all sides.

While the majority of protesters are frustrated citizens concerned about the cost of living, the anger also gives cover to those who just like to smash things up. (The UK's student protests of 2011 and subsequent anti-austerity marches were no different in this respect). But though the burnt-out cars can be removed and the broken shop windows can be replaced, Macron's political reality remains the same.

French journalist Marion Van Renterghem has described the crumbling of Macron's support: the left are dismayed by his pro-business reforms; pensioners are angry at the cuts that have been imposed; and many of the young who once flocked to him now watch in horror as he berates the unemployed for not trying hard enough to get a job.

Amid the flares and rioting there is a more mainstream discontent that threatens to upend Macron's reform agenda. At the start of this year his approval rating stood just above 40 per cent but has declined ever since, and is just 26 per cent today. A similar percentage of voters support Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and Jean-Luc Melenchon's far-left France Unbowed.

As Macron surveyed the Arc de Triomphe, he may have wondered whether the centre – his centre – can hold.