France’s new head of state works on being presidential
PARIS France’s newly elected president has started taking on his new role, working on the attitude expected of a statesman — a new world for a man with little political experience who long remained in the shadows.
Moments after his victory on Sunday, Emmanuel Macron, 39, slowly walked to the stage in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum in Paris, progressively appearing in the light to the sound of the European anthem “Ode to Joy” — a very symbolic moment before the crowd of supporters roared.
On Monday morning he appeared side-by-side with outgoing president Francois Hollande — his former mentor — at a commemoration of the end of World War II.
Macron was literally introduced into politics by Hollande, who chose him as his economy adviser during his 2012 winning campaign.
He followed Hollande to the Elysee palace, becoming one of his top advisers for two years. In August 2014, Hollande named him economy minister within his Socialist government.
The two men separated when Macron quit in August 2016 to prepare his presidential bid.
The man who will formally become France’s youngest president on Sunday has never held elected office.
He campaigned on pro-business and pro-European policies, a risky move when a populist wave recently swept Donald Trump into the White House and led Britain to vote to leave the EU would also carry her to France’s presidential Elysee Palace.
In his victory speech, Macron vowed to “rebuild the relationship between Europe and the peoples that make it.” He pledged to open a new page for France based on hope and “restored confidence.”
In his political rallies, he encouraged supporters to wave both the French tricolour and the European Union flags, and asked them not to boo his rivals, rather fight their ideas.
An investment banker at Rothschild for almost four years, he was accused by farright rival Marine Le Pen of being the face of “the world of finance.”
“I’m not under control of the banks. If that was the case, I would have kept working for them,” Macron answered.
His next challenge will be to get a parliamentary majority in an election next month — with no mainstream party to support him.
He launched his own political movement last year and pledged to present a candidate in every district under his “Republic on the Move” new banner.
The strong advocate of a free market and entrepreneurial spirit has called for France to be more innovative and focus on getting benefits from globalization.
It won’t be his first experience in the challenge of reforming France.
As economy minister he promoted a package of measures, notably allowing more stores to open on Sundays and evenings and opening up regulated sectors of the economy.
Opponents on the left accused him of destroying workers’ protections. Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets for months of protests, and the government had to force the law through parliament under special powers.