Macron runs France like a CEO. His customers aren’t happy.

VERSAILLES, France—President Emmanuel Macron was in his element last month, holding court with foreign investors at a Davos-inspired conference inside the Palace of Versailles.

European elections were just around the corner, but Macron was already thinking beyond the ballot box. He wanted to discuss the rise of artificial intelligence, and he instructed the array of executives from tech companies and sovereign-wealth funds to “please be super direct."

One executive warned the voracious technology would require the world to double its energy supply. Another said AI would unleash a wave of job displacement. If Macron was fazed by the talk of economic disruption, he didn’t show it.

“Look," Macron said, “I think there is a strong consensus on what we have to do now: accelerate, accelerate, accelerate."

Throughout his seven years in office, Macron has kept his foot on the pedal, relentlessly revamping the French economy with tax cuts and labor market overhauls to make France an attractive destination for foreign companies and the global elite.

France’s economic makeover, however, has come at a steep political price. Beyond the gates of Versailles, many French voters say they have grown tired of Macron’s tendency to run France like a business rather than a country. His technocratic focus on France’s ability to compete in the global marketplace has done little to placate widespread anxieties over immigration and the rising cost of living.

Macron has also governed like a chief executive, advancing his pro-business agenda through directives rather than building consensus across French society. Since Macron was re-elected in 2022, his government has exercised article 49.3 of the French constitution—a measure that allows French