Face to face with Emmanuel Macron y Marine Le Pen for the presidency of France. As happened in 2017, the liberal candidate and the far-right candidate face each other in the second round of the French presidential elections. In the first round, only 51% of the French decided for one of them and now they no longer have to convince their electorate but all those who did not vote for them, with a two-way debate as the main date. For this they have prepared their campaign and their non-verbal communication: Macron has tried to exploit his more human side while Le Pen intends to present himself as a strong but moderate candidate. Several experts analyze for El Periódico de España the gestures, expressions and political communication of both candidates.
Macron bare-chested
The first thing that all the experts point out is that Macron and Le Pen represent two antagonistic communication styles, white against black. Macron has used a communication style halfway between “Spanish and American and in that sense he is a reference, he does very good political communication,” Cristian Salomoni, an expert in non-verbal communication from ACONVE, assures this medium.
In general, says César Toledo, political communication consultant, expert in the analysis of nonverbal behavior and editor of the website analisisnoverbal.com, Macron has “a persuasive style, inspired by empathy and reflection.” But, during this campaign he has tried to exploit the most emotional side of him, “he has made an effort to seem like a sensitive man.” And that has been noticed in his gestures in the final stretch of the campaign with “a more expressive and emotional smile or seeking physical contact with their interlocutors“, which gives him “a friendlier and closer image,” explains Toledo.
Macron, experts believe, has perfectly understood that he must get closer to his voters emotionally, show his most human side, show everything behind the campaign. A clear example is that photo with which he surprised on Thursday, sitting on a sofa, with his shirt open, displaying an imposing mop of hair. “It’s a very cool photo, reminiscent of Obama, is an option to approach people. It’s like the photo of Pedro Sánchez with his dog, it shows us if our president likes animals, sports, the environment… the emotional side, which is now more important,” explains the ACONVE partner.
For Salomoni, the only problem that Macron has had in his communication has been “the one that all the presidents who stand for re-election have, who have preferred to use a defensive strategy, not to win votes but to strengthen the ones he already had“. However, for Toledo, his mistake has been precisely in the photo: “He has been more erratic, he has forced his image more with those photos imitating Kennedy, Obama or Zelensky.
Le Pen, working to be presidential
Le Pen, meanwhile, represents a completely different model of communication and leadership, “more classic, based on power and action, more coercive“, explains Toledo. “Many political scientists say that this model no longer works, but in view of how close things are in France, I would not dare to say so much. In difficult times and with so much uncertainty, citizens value firmness and imposition”.
In general, Le Pen has made an effort to appear as a tough, firm, prepared woman, quite the opposite of Macron showing her sensitive side. For this she has used “a much more rigid body language, walks upright and with a very firm step, uses much more forceful and aggressive gestureshas an expression of certain arrogance when raising his chin, and his smiles are very social and forced, “says the expert.
Both experts agree that Le Pen has done a good job with her non-verbal communication, despite those forced smiles. “He has made an effort to appear presidential, credible and prepareddespite making an aggressive campaign, which seeks the guts of the voter, “says Salomoni. And he has learned to differentiate the spaces. “He has understood that all his vehemence can explode in a rally, but not in a debate.”
Le Pen has also achieved her main objective, which was to present herself as a moderate candidate. This was helped by the appearance of Éric Zemmour, even more to the right of her positions, but also this tighter communication in the debates, with less vehemence, emphasizing firmness instead of aggressiveness. Also the entire campaign he has done uploading photos of his cats to his social networks, with which he intended to present himself in a more friendly, sensitive and even animalistic way.
It has had a more classic communication, more faithful to its style, which the French may consider more authentic, but in which there have been important flaws. The first is that tic that gives her away when she gets angry. “At the end, Le Pen’s personality is choleric, ruled by anger, by ragewhich are good emotions at times, but so strong that sometimes they play tricks on him because micro expressions of anger come out and his face is an open book and he can always show her angry”, analyzes Salomoni. That’s what he says, it’s something that Macron would never happen to him because he is a “phlegmatic, more rational person, he speaks to you like the teacher who teaches you, who gives you the data, he is more calm”.
The second flaw, perhaps the most important for Salomoni, has resided in another photo, one that Le Pen uploaded to her social networks in which hugged a racialized woman “but with a loose hand, as if not wanting to touch her”he explains, which can give an image of intolerance and xenophobia.
The debate, the key appointment
Both models faced each other in this week’s electoral debate. The setting said it all. A table separated by more than a meter, broken in the center, in which the candidates looked at each other, not the moderators, in short, a confrontation. “They wanted to convey a duel, perhaps not good against evil, but white against black. There is no talk of coalitions, one wins and one loses and they were trying to tell France ‘you must choose and do it well, or him or her’, because they are facing death,” Salomoni analyzes.
The majority of experts and political scientists point to Macron as the big winner for having safely and rationally presented the security data, the war in Ukraine, the economy… data with which he has made Marine Le Pen doubt that he has arrived to appear lost or angry- with this tic that the experts were talking about-. But, At the non-verbal communication level, Macron has had failures.
“He has come across as overly arrogant, with his arms crossed, leaning back in his chair as if to say ‘what are you telling me’? Also with his elbows on the table and his head resting on his hands as if with pride, with pride. and all these gestures also denote nervousness.
Conversely, Le Pen has presented herself “always straight, with one hand on top of the other, with synchronous gestures that express her message. He has learned from the previous debate that it was a disappointment for her. She showed that she was a presidential candidate, that people can trust her. That she not only spits blood but she can also be elegant, explaining her values,” Salomoni says.
So who has won? For experts it is a tie. Both have done a very powerful job, they have won in some things and have lost in others.
What the faces of the candidates say
The face is the mirror of the soul. That is why Alicia Rivas and Angel Gerpe, experts in nonverbal communication from the Institute of Humanities and Business in Madrid and in morphopsychology from the Louis Corman Institute in Barcelona, have analyzed the faces of the candidates.
The analysis of Emmanuel Macron’s face shows that he is a person with balanced thinking, combining a reflective character with a good ability to put his thoughts into practice. Specific, his good execution ability is seen through the tilt of his ears and his ability to reflect in the lines of his forehead.
Another important feature of his face is his nose, aquiline, which tends to project, which denotes a dominant character already passionate. Finally, his mouth, retracted, closed and vertical, reveal the personality of a man capable of controlling his emotions and putting his thoughts before his physical needs. In general, according to experts, it is the face of a man faithful to his ideals.
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In Le Pen’s case, her face shows a more withdrawn person, less able to engage socially. In that sense, the shape of the chin and mouth indicate that you need to develop your ability to control your reactionsyour ideas or your comments about other people, to be less impulsive.
Two personalities, two campaigns and two faces that represent antagonistic political and communicative models. This Sunday, France chooses which one it stays with.