Emmanuel Macron facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Emmanuel Macron
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Macron in 2023
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25th President of France | |
Assumed office 14 May 2017 |
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Prime Minister | Édouard Philippe Jean Castex Élisabeth Borne Gabriel Attal |
Preceded by | François Hollande |
Minister of Economics, Industry and Digital Affairs | |
In office 26 August 2014 – 30 August 2016 |
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Prime Minister | Manuel Valls |
Preceded by | Arnaud Montebourg |
Succeeded by | Michel Sapin |
Deputy Secretary-General to the President | |
In office 15 May 2012 – 15 July 2014 |
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President | François Hollande |
Preceded by | Jean Castex |
Succeeded by | Laurence Boone |
Additional positions | |
(see § Offices and distinctions) | |
Personal details | |
Born |
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron
21 December 1977 Amiens, Somme, France |
Political party | Renaissance (2016–present) |
Other political affiliations |
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Spouse | |
Parent |
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Relatives | Laurence Auzière-Jourdan (stepdaughter) |
Residence | Élysée Palace |
Alma mater |
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Awards | List of honours and decorations |
Signature | |
Co-Prince of Andorra | |
Reign | 14 May 2017 – present |
Predecessor | François Hollande |
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron ( born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has been President of France since 2017.
Contents
Early life
Macron was born on 21 December 1977 in Amiens. He is the son of Françoise Macron (née Noguès), a physician, and Jean-Michel Macron, professor of neurology at the University of Picardy. The couple divorced in 2010. He has two siblings, Laurent, born in 1979, and Estelle, born in 1982. Françoise and Jean-Michel's first child was stillborn.
Education
Macron was educated mainly at the Jesuit institute Lycée la Providence in Amiens before his parents sent him to finish his last year of school at the elite Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. His parents sent him to Paris due to their alarm at the bond he had formed with Brigitte Auzière, a married teacher with three children at Jésuites de la Providence, who later became his wife.
Macron studied philosophy at Paris Nanterre University, later completing a master's degree in public affairs at Sciences Po and graduating from the École nationale d'administration in 2004.
Early career
After graduating, Macron worked as a senior civil servant at the Inspectorate General of Finances and later became an investment banker.
He joined the Socialist Party at the age of 24. In May 2012, Macron was appointed Élysée deputy secretary-general by President François Hollande. He then served as Minister of Economics, Industry and Digital Affairs from 2014 to 2016, resigning to launch his 2017 presidential campaign. Macron was elected President of France on 7 May 2017, defeating Marine Le Pen of the National Front.
Presidency (2017–present)
In his first few months as president, Macron pressed for the enactment of a package of reforms on public ethics, labour laws, taxes, and a renewable energy transition. In 2017, Macron signed into law a controversial anti-terror bill, which gives authorities expanded power to search homes, restrict movement, close places of worship, and search areas around train stations and international ports and airports. In December 2019, Macron announced that he would scrap the 20th-century pension system and introduce a single national pension system managed by the state. This lead to the pension reform strike with weeks of public transport shutdown and vandalism across Paris. In January 2020, Macron compromised on the plan by revising the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Macron was elected to a second term in the 2022 presidential election, again defeating Marine Le Pen.
In foreign policy, Macron called for reforms to the European Union (EU), stating that effective defence policy and quick decision-making held the key for Europe. He added that reliance on NATO and especially the US and the UK was not good for Europe, and a dialogue must be established with Russia.
During his tenure, Macron signed bilateral treaties with Italy and Germany. He conducted €42 billion in trade and business agreements with China during the China–United States trade war and oversaw a dispute with Australia and the United States over the AUKUS security pact.
Macron views fighting Islamist terrorism at home and abroad as France's top priority. On 1 August 2023, Macron signed into law a multi-year military planning bill, which set the stage for a 40%-increase in military spending to a total of €413 billion between 2024 and 2030, after it was passed by the French parliament on 13 July 2023.
Personal life
Macron is married to Brigitte Trogneux, a former teacher 24 years his senior, and his former La Providence high school teacher in Amiens. They met during a theatre workshop that she was giving when he was a 15-year-old student and she was a 39-year-old teacher. His parents initially attempted to separate the couple by sending him away to Paris to finish the final year of his schooling. The couple reunited after Macron graduated, and were married in 2007. She has three children from a previous marriage; he has no children of his own.
Interesting facts about Emmanuel Macron
- Macron is the youngest president in French history.
- He is also the first French presidential candidate to win reelection since Jacques Chirac.
- As president of France, Macron also serves ex officio as one of the two co-princes of Andorra.
- Macron is a fan of football. He is a supporter of Olympique de Marseille.
- He and his wife Brigitte have a dog named Nemo, a black Labrador Retriever-Griffon who lives with them in the Élysée Palace.
- Macron plays the piano, and studied piano for ten years in his youth. He especially enjoys the work of Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt.
- He also skis, plays tennis and enjoys boxing.
- In addition to his native French, Macron speaks fluent English.
Honours and decorations
National honours
Ribbon bar | Honour | Date and comment |
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Grand Master and Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour | 14 May 2017 – automatic upon taking presidential office | |
Grand Master and Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit | 14 May 2017 – automatic upon taking presidential office |
Foreign honours
Ribbon bar | Country | Honour | Date |
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United Kingdom | Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire | 5 June 2014 | |
Mexico | Sash of the Order of the Aztec Eagle | 22 September 2016 | |
Greece | Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer | 7 September 2017 | |
Lebanon | Grand Cross of the Order of Merit | 22 September 2017 | |
Tunisia | Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic of Tunisia | 31 January 2018 | |
Senegal | Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion | 2 February 2018 | |
Luxembourg | Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau | 19 March 2018 | |
Denmark | Knight of the Order of the Elephant | 28 August 2018 | |
Finland | Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose with Collar | 29 August 2018 | |
South Korea | Grand Order of Mugunghwa | 8 October 2018 | |
Belgium | Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold | 19 November 2018 | |
Ivory Coast | Grand Cross of the National Order of the Ivory Coast | 20 December 2019 | |
Egypt | Collar of the Order of the Nile | 7 December 2020 | |
United States | Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit | 8 December 2020 | |
Italy | Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic | 1 July 2021 | |
United Arab Emirates | Collar of the Order of Zayed | 18 July 2022 | |
Netherlands | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | 11 April 2023 | |
United Kingdom | Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath | 20 September 2023 | |
Sweden | Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim | 30 January 2024 | |
Moldova | Order of the Republic | 7 March 2024 | |
Brazil | Collar of the Order of the Southern Cross. Grand officer as Deputy Secretary-General to the President on 9 December 2012. | 28 March 2024 |
Prizes
- Le Trombinoscope (2014, 2016)
- Charlemagne Prize (2018)
- Champion of the Earth (2018)
- Westfälischer Friedenspreis (2024)
Images for kids
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Macron's supporters celebrating his victory at the Louvre on 7 May 2017
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Macron with US President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in October 2021
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Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv in 2022
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Macron with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in October 2022
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Macron with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in May 2023
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Macron with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Israel, 24 October 2023
See also
In Spanish: Emmanuel Macron para niños