No, there shouldn't be comprehensive protection like in the Corona crisis this time, French President Emmanuel Macron has been emphasizing for weeks.

Targeted instead of by watering can one wants to support citizens and companies that suffer from the high energy prices and the consequences of the Ukraine war.

Unlimited state aid only fueled inflation, especially since there was no slump in production like in spring 2020.

Macron is right with his finding.

His policies, however, give the opposite impression.

Since the fall, he has mobilized more than 25 billion euros from the state coffers to cap electricity and gas prices, transfer checks to millions of French people, provide direct aid to farmers, fishermen and energy-intensive companies, and motorists just before the two rounds of the presidential election to give a tank discount on April 10th and 24th.

The motive is obvious: According to surveys, purchasing power is by far the most important issue for the French.

Inflation is eating away at growth.

At around five percent, it was not as high as in Germany, but only because the "tariff brakes" artificially inhibit price increases.

The faults can only be guessed at

Macron is doubly driven.

For one thing, he hasn't forgotten the imbalance that the "yellow vest" protest sparked.

On the other hand, the competition in the election campaign has unleashed a bidding war: The economists at the liberal Institut Montaigne estimate the spending promises of the right-wing Marine Le Pen at 120 billion euros, and that of the left-wing Jean-Luc Mélenchon at as much as 332 billion euros.

With 57 billion euros, Macron is no slouch either.

The dynamic that has already sparked new aid, market interventions and further demands is staggering.

No one can put a serious figure on what final bill the French can expect when the election is over and the price caps for electricity and gas fall.

The upheavals on the producer side - the energy company EDF has just been revitalized with a capital injection of 3.2 billion euros - can only be guessed at.

The only thing that should be clear is that it will be expensive, especially if Russian gas is no longer supplied and a recession is really imminent.

The closer the election got, the more Macron, who started with reform enthusiasm in 2017, has fallen back into old French patterns.

In terms of economic policy, he was not without success: Macron reformed labor law, unemployment benefits and company training and, with the introduction of short-time work benefits during the pandemic, laid the foundation for the rapid upswing that followed.

All income groups have benefited from this.

Lonely peak in Europe

Nobody is talking about mass unemployment like in previous election campaigns.

The unemployment rate has fallen under Macron and the employment rate has risen to a record high.

Entrepreneurial spirit was not only kindled in Sunday speeches, but is also reflected in the multiplication of successful young companies.

Direct investments have picked up, and even beyond the metropolis of Paris, France is no longer just a sales market, but here and there also a production location.

But the tendency to interventionism shines through again and again.

Industrial politician Macron is in his element when it comes to reversing globalization and the role of the state in digital and “green” change.

On the other hand, little is heard from him about the creative power of competition and technology-neutral CO2 pricing.

The President is alien to skepticism that a controlling and generous state could paralyze innovation potential more than it would promote it.

The fact that France's public spending has soared to 60 percent of economic output - a lone peak in Europe - and that the national debt is approaching the three trillion euro mark, was at best raised in the election campaign by right-wing Valérie Pécresse, who was defeated in the polls.

Looking at the group of favorites on Sunday, it's basically just a question of how quickly the mountain of debt will continue to grow and how much politics will expand its influence on the economy.

Difficult but important structural reforms such as raising the retirement age – which is four years below the OECD average – should not be hoped for too much.

The strong state is also experiencing a renaissance in Washington and Berlin, but it was never really gone in Paris.