Few people accuse politicians of being genuinely self-effacing. From Al Gore claiming he introduced the bill that made the internet possible (hint: it already existed), to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s seemingly inexhaustible ability to look like an arrogant feudal lord by doing things like hanging out with buddies and family on a beach state government closed to everyone else, conceit and arrogance seem implacably intrinsic to the political DNA.

And now, France brings us what might be the 21st Century capper. ferk me... 

This is not a joke.

Evidently intent on outdoing good ol’ Louis XIV, who is claimed to have said, “L'état, c'est moi,” or “I am the state," Mr. Macron is going all godlike, comparing himself not only to the Roman mucky-muck Jupiter, but, because Jupiter is just a renaming of the cooler original, to the Greek god of gods, Zeus.

Here’s what Reuters had to say:



(oh come on.. WTF>>>  )

But why just Jupiter? How about a Saturnian presidency so all the Illuminati-esoterica crowd at Bilderberg will get a thrill, or how about a Plutonian presidency? So far out and so insignificant, people don’t really notice?

This is a man who played “Ode to Joy”, the EU anthem before the French national anthem when he presented himself to the people of France in front of the pyramidal façade of the Louvre.

.

https://userscontent2.emaze.com/images/00561a57-07a3-4db5-beda-371177501599/c0f9...

pretty neat huh?...

...................French voters turned off by President Emmanuel Macron’s authoritarian and image-conscious streak have helped trigger a ten-point fall in his approval ratings in the past month.

The leader’s displays of power and his reform plans are among the reasons that people are losing enthusiasm ten weeks after he was swept into office, according to the pollster Ifop.

In its monthly rating, Mr Macron fell back to 54 per cent approval, the biggest drop so soon after an election since Jacques Chirac lost favour in the summer of 1995. Francois Hollande lost five points in his first two months but descended steadily for four years to the deepest unpopularity of any president.

The election of Mr Macron, 39, in May was a historic rejection of the big parties that had governed France for 60 years. He still remains one of the most popular presidents at this stage in his term but is falling back from the heights of his post-election euphoria, said Jerome Fourquet, of Ifop.

“For Emmanuel Macron, re-entry into the atmosphere is brutal. He is being hit by a backlash of grievances from different sectors,” Mr Fourquet told Le Journal du Dimanche.

The president’s image suffered from what much of France saw as his high-handed treatment of General Pierre de Villiers, the chief of the armed forces. He resigned last week in a dispute with Mr Macron over a defence budget cut. The president raised eyebrows by telling the military high command “I am the chief” and that they had no right to comment on his policies.

The polling company also heard widespread complaints about “a presidency based on image-making” and “authoritarianism”, Mr Fourquet said.
President Macron has suffered a slide in his approval rating.

Mr Macron has distinguished himself by his use of grandeur, such as receiving President Putin in the Palace of Versailles and President Trump at the Bastille day military parade.

He was deemed to have taken his love of costumes too far on Thursday when he wore a Top Gun-style military flight suit to address air force personnel in Provence.

Jokes about “Tom Cruise Macron” filled the internet. No other president since Charles de Gaulle had appeared in a uniform though all had performed military service, unlike Mr Macron, who was excused, it was noted.

After the row with General de Villiers, Liberation, the left-wing newspaper, said that Mr Macron’s “little authoritarian fit” might suggest that he was drunk on power and that it was time for him “to grow up”.

The drop in approval has been especially sharp among public sector workers, whose support for the En Marche leader has dropped 18 points. They dislike his plans to loosen employment protection and to restrict their sick leave pay.

The fall in support is 14 percentage points among people nearing retirement, with those aged 50-64 disapproving of proposals to raise taxes on pensioners.

Edouard Philippe, the prime minister since May, suffered an eight-point fall in approval to 56 per cent after confusion over taxes.

The Times...............