After the grand re-opening of Notre Dame, Macron faces a brutal return to reality

This weekend's grand re-opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral provided a rare moment of respite for President Emmanuel Macron, as France remains embroiled in an unprecedented institutional crisis. 

Although the ceremony dazzled world leaders including US President-elect Donald Trump, Macron remains highly unpopular at home.

The long-awaited re-opening of the fire-ravaged 860-year-old monument was overshadowed by a no-confidence vote in parliament resulting in the collapse of Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government on Wednesday.

A diplomatic tour de force

The French President hoped the celebration would enhance his standing abroad.

He scored a major diplomatic triumph by attracting Donald Trump for his first foreign trip since his election victory. 

At the Elysée Palace, Macron received both Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a trilateral meeting - hoping to convince the US President-elect to continue helping Ukraine in its military efforts against Russia's full-scale invasion.

On Friday, Trump said that Ukraine should "probably" expect less aid from the United States when he returns to power.

"He is very weak on the domestic scene that's why he is compensating this with the international stature that is having so many heads of state at the ceremony," said Cedomir Nestorivic, a professor of geopolitics at the ESSEC Business School in an interview with Euronews.

During an interview with French TV Channel BFM, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin under Jacques Chirac in 2005, congratulated the French leader for "seizing the opportunity."

Moreover, Macron's promise to rebuild Notre Dame in just five years was a risky bet that very few believed he could achieve.

"Maybe it will be the only positive thing people will remember from the two terms he served as the president. That's why it was so important for him," explained Cedomir Nestorovic.

Back to reality

After the diplomatic ballet, Macron will resume talks with party leaders. On Monday, he is set to meet with the leaders of the Green Party, the Communist Party, and then the independent Liot group.

Yaël Braun-Pivet, the President of the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) called for the "rapid appointment of a prime minister" in an interview with French media on Sunday.

The representatives of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party declined Macron's invitation and have called for the head of state to resign.

Many blame Emmanuel Macron for the country's mess after he shockingly dissolved parliament after his party lost to the far right in the EU elections in June.

The French leader justified the decision to call snap elections saying the nation needed "clarification."

Instead, the legislative elections ended in a deadlocked parliament with no clear majority.