France, Dec. 31 -- It's been a busy year for President Emmanuel Macron: the world watched him preside over the Paris Olympics, D-Day commemorations and the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral. But on the domestic front it's been a veritable "annus horribilis" - marked by political turmoil, loss of influence and all-time low popularity.

A year ago, in his New Year televised address, President Macron announced a year of "French pride".

In some ways it delivered.

In June, France welcomed WWII veterans from the US, Canada, UK, and its former colonies to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, in what will likely be the last major ceremony in the presence of the men and women who freed France from Nazi rule.

Late...