The Post

France’s president

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Emmanuel Macron went to the Palace of Versailles on Monday and proclaimed a French revolution. But the French president’s speech to the newly elected parliament and the senate was one that matters not just in the republic itself but across Europe – and in Britain.

Mr Macron’s speech was full of French pride, with successive appeals to France’s scenic loveliness, great history and human achievemen­ts. He needed to do this because, according to a new survey, 69% of French people think France is in decline. Whereas Theresa May bases her vision of a ‘‘global Britain’’ largely on the country’s trade potential, Mr Macron invoked France’s writers, painters and musicians who ‘‘put politics in its true place by making us see beyond everyday things to a place that gives the human condition its grandeur.’’

Both France and Britain are countries in historic decline and denial. But they seek very different routes out of their crises. While France has embarked on progressiv­e reform in a reformed Europe, Britain has voted for Brexit, re-elected a damaged Tory government and now seeks to cut itself off from Europe. Mrs May’s attempt at strong leadership in pursuit of an anti-European policy lies in tatters. Mr Macron’s pro-European version survives and prospers, for now at least. The contrast is a sobering one.

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