Emmanuel Macron, France's 40-year-old president and considered by many Angela Merkel's successor as the new face of Europe, made his debut speech at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos in front of a star-studded crowded, even by Davos's standards, which included King Felipe of Spain, Christine Lagarde and Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne among those in the audience. Macron told them "it's time for a new framework to rein in the excesses of global capitalism": invest, share and protect.

But mostly share.

"This framework should be based on cooperation and multilateralism," Macron said quoted by Bloomberg. "This new framework is the unique way to protect our interests in the long run."

And yet, despite the superficial aura of the wealth redistribution narrative and speech, which was addressed as much to his audience in France as in Davos, the message had a hollow ring as France Macron's growing critics have already dubbed him "president of the rich" amid his push to cut back some protections for workers and lower taxes.