Monsieur Macron's presidential consulting business
Education:
Emmanuel Macron was born in Amiens, France. He studied philosophy at Paris Nanterre University (Master’s degree) and then public affairs at Sciences Po. He completed his education at the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA), one of France's most prestigious schools, which has educated several French Presidents and Prime Ministers. This school teaches you to have the memory of a computer and to think the same as all the illustrious people who graduated there (and who went through Sciences Po before).
Professional experience:
After completing his studies, he worked as an Inspector of Finances in the French Ministry of Economy (2004-2008). He then left civil service to work as an investment banker at Rothschild & Cie Banque from 2008 to 2012, where he rose to the position of Managing Director. The media have publicly reported his involvement in two M&A transactions:
Nestlé's acquisition of Pfizer Nutrition: One of the most significant deals Macron was involved in was advising Nestlé on its acquisition of Pfizer Nutrition in 2012. The deal was valued at approximately $11.9 billion and significantly expanded Nestlé's presence in the infant nutrition market.
Acquisition of a stake in Le Monde: In 2010, Macron was involved in restructuring the French newspaper Le Monde. He advised a consortium of investors, including Xavier Niel, Pierre Bergé, and Matthieu Pigasse, on their acquisition of a controlling stake in the struggling publication. The deal helped save Le Monde from potential bankruptcy and set it on a more stable financial footing.
That’s all we know. For the rest, we can only speculate. Macron joined Rothschild in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis. During this time, many banks worked on deals related to the crisis, including advising clients on restructuring.
Macron was appointed as deputy secretary-general under President François Hollande in 2012. In 2014, he became the Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs, where he pushed for pro-business reforms, known as the "Macron laws."
He resigned from the Hollande government in August 2016 to focus on his own political business and won the presidential election in 2017, thus becoming one of the most prominent French consultants.
The consulting business
There is something unfair in making Macron carry the whole weight of a French geostrategic culture, a “realist” culture that always places itself in a dominant position with regard to its weaker allies and becomes a mosquito with regard to its stronger allies. This does not date from Macron. There is a blind universalist cultural superiority complex that irritates everyone. But France was built on it, starting with its regional unification, carried out by force. We won't do anything with it.
However, Macron’s personal contribution to French geostrategy lies somewhere else: by destroying the diplomatic corps, he is destroying French diplomacy. A local official can now be appointed as a diplomat and a diplomat can be sent to the French countryside. On top of this, what Macron is doing looks like a privatization of French foreign policy. Cutting off the Quai d’Orsay (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs) from its contacts, reserving the address book for himself, not listening to professional diplomats, and saying anything just to contradict the Quai, … It looks like an international consultant's method of building up a private clients portfolio, to join the Schröder / Villepin / Fillon / Raffarin / Sarkozy / Fillon / etc. club.