Austerity is the neoliberal elites like Macron way of feigning poverty. They want a small, weak government, powerful businesses, and an impoverished society completely dependent on their whims and generosity.

Any government wants power, money, and having society depend on them. The bigger and more powerful the government, the more they can do.

Same with companies: the larger the more annoying, but at least you can choose them, and there's competition. Not so much with governments, they just act like a powerful monopolistic megacorp.

The goal is to make power decentralized, not further concentrated in a few hands, especially not a government that can get away with it as much as they want, and even use violence, contempt and oppression if needed.

I am skeptical that blanket decentralization works without some central framework to maintain it. Otherwise power still accumulates and without some enforcement of openness and a collective discussion - corruption also grows perfectly fine without government involved. See decentralized crypto industry as a microcosm.

I would say that government and a healthy protest of government as the French are exercising is one way to check the over accumulation of oppressive power.