Emmanuel Macron

Macron has been married to Brigitte Macron since October 20, 2007. They met while Macron was a student at a high school in Amiens, where Brigitte was his drama teacher, and she is 24 years older than him.

Brigitte Macron was previously a married mother of three when their relationship began. The couple later resumed their romance and married in 2007.

Macron studied philosophy at Paris Nanterre University and public affairs at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, also known as Sciences Po. He also worked as an editorial assistant for the philosopher and historian Paul Ricoeur. In 2004, he graduated from the École Nationale d’Administration, or ENA.

He began his public service career as an inspector for France’s Ministry of Economy and Finance. After four years in government, he entered investment banking at Rothschild & Cie Banque, where he became a managing director and advised Nestlé on its acquisition of a Pfizer baby food division in 2012.

Macron returned to government in 2012 as deputy secretary-general of the Presidency of the Republic under President François Hollande. He became minister of economy, industry and digital affairs in 2014, and promoted a deregulatory package known as the Macron Law. The legislation loosened restrictions on Sunday trading, liberalized some regulated sectors, and created less expensive intercity bus options.

He founded En Marche! on April 6, 2016, and left government later that year to run for president. Macron defeated Marine Le Pen in the May 7, 2017, runoff, winning more than 66 percent of the vote. At 39, he became France’s youngest president and the first person in the Fifth Republic to win the presidency without the backing of either the Socialists or the Gaullists.

En Marche! won 308 of 577 seats in the National Assembly in the legislative elections held shortly after Macron’s inauguration. With support from François Bayrou’s Democratic Movement, Macron’s coalition initially commanded 350 seats.

His first term was marked by the Yellow Vest protests, which began in 2018 over a proposed fuel tax and expanded into broader opposition to economic policy and living costs. Macron withdrew the tax after large demonstrations. He also oversaw France’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including lockdowns, public-health measures, and a vaccination campaign.

Macron defeated Marine Le Pen again in the April 24, 2022, presidential runoff, securing more than 58 percent of the vote. His victory made him the first French president since Jacques Chirac in 2002 to win a second term.

After the 2022 parliamentary elections, Macron’s coalition lost its majority and his government continued as a minority administration. His government used Article 49.3 to pass a pension reform that raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, prompting widespread protests. Macron also supported France’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and backed Parliament’s decision in 2024 to protect abortion as a constitutional freedom.

Following the National Rally’s strong performance in the 2024 European Parliament elections, Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called a snap parliamentary election. The election produced another parliamentary setback for his coalition and led to a succession of prime ministers, including Michel Barnier, François Bayrou, and Sébastien Lecornu.