Macron’s marriage in the spotlight
They met in high school . . . she was his teacher and was 24 years older than him Fresh face helps mainstream politics to stage comeback in France
When French voters are asked to describe the centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, age appears to be a defining characteristic in several ways.
The 39-year-old Macron could become the youngest contemporary French president. He would also be accompanied into the Elysee Palace by his wife, Brigitte, who is 24 years older than he is. Both would be highly unusual, if not unprecedented.
Since Macron founded his own political movement about one year ago, his wife has rapidly adapted to the sudden prospect of becoming the next first lady of France after spending much of her life as a high school teacher. She had few other choices, given the rather intense interest in the private lives of presidential candidates in France.
The separation of Socialist Party President Francois Hollande from his former partner, Valerie Trierweiler, after his affair with an actress was made public by a magazine and was on front pages for weeks. French voters, it appears, like some drama and a public debate about private matters. In 2008, “Barack Obama” wasn’t an obvious answer to “who comes after George W Bush?”
A young, black, junior senator with the middle name of Hussein following the man who invaded Iraq.
These days the US Democrats are faced with the long-term question of “who do we look for to take on Donald Trump?”
Go for like with like? Draft in a celebrity or a former comedian? Go back to low-key, sombre and serious? Get a safe party grandee next time or go for youth?
Across the pond in Britain, oneparty government is, in effect, the immediate future.
Labour is battling the ruling Conservatives from the left of centre and the Tories are double their main opponents in the opinion polls. The
The unusual relationship between Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron has plenty of that to offer.
Born as Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux, the now 64-year-old is the daughter of a family of chocolatiers who are known for their macaroons, a French type of candy that sounds remarkably similar to the name of the current presidential candidate.
The two first met when Macron was 15 years old at the high school in Amiens where Brigitte taught a French and a theatre class at the time.
“Whatever you do, I’ll marry you!” her student Macron reportedly told her there. Against all likelihood, the romance continued and Brigitte Trogneux eventually separated from her husband with whom she has three children.
In the following decades, as Macron rose from being an investment banker to Economy Minister, their relationship was often put under scrutiny and “misunderstood by many”, as the top-politician himself has said.
In 2007, the two married but kept it a secret to most people. It took eight more years until the two made their first public appearance during a dinner with King Felipe of Spain and his wife. leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, unpopular with many of his own MPs, is a focus of Labour’s perceived weakness.
After a year in which populism and the rancorous American election dominated, there’s much uncertainty about what lies ahead and what types of leaders will emerge.
The parliamentary elections in the Netherlands in March saw the first significant check on the populist movement in Europe.
Sunday’s French election, and the achievement of Emmanuel Macron in making the runoff as the heavy favourite, is more significant still.
Macron, with only a year-old movement behind him, has significant problems ahead should he beat the National Front’s Marine Le Pen, particularly with legislative elections in June and having to deal with other parties.
The intense election campaign of the last year has put an end to the secrecy. Almost everyone in France is aware of the details of their love story by now.
When Macron declared himself the winner of the first round of the election on Monday, he praised his wife several times. His supporters abruptly started to cheer and applaud, waving French flags into her direction as she was listening from the side of the stage.
To his supporters, Brigitte Macron has become an essential part of the
But he’s a sudden reminder that a non-populist, mainstream leader can still be attractive to voters in this period where the centre seems unstable and huge radical change such as Brexit is reality rather than a far-right dream.
Macron’s optimism about Europe and support for political openness is more in the Obama and Justin Trudeau vein, than the recent fiery flailing on the far-right and far-left of Trump, Nigel Farage, Le Pen, Bernie Sanders, Jean-Luc Melanchon and others that we’ve become used to.
Macron, 39, did slightly better in the end than the polls predicted, winning 24 per cent and 8.6 million votes to Le Pen’s 21.3 per cent and 7.6 million. Turnout was 78 per cent.
He was only the third preference with 18 per cent among 18 to 24 year olds behind the far-left Melanchon (30 per cent) and Le Pen (21 per cent). campaign — not only as a possible future first lady but also as an organiser who is one of the masterminds behind the movement’s rise.
The French press has taken note. “His best ally?” political magazine L’Express asked recently, referring to Brigitte Macron.
According to Emmanuel Macron, that might well be the case. And yet, his unusual love life has not made his already challenging campaign much easier.
On social media, critics of the presidential frontrunner frequently
France’s political class has largely rallied around Macron for the runoff on May 7 and polls show him with an about 60 to 40 per cent chance of winning the presidency.
A former investment banker, Macron came out of nowhere. He entered politics three years ago, becoming Economy Minister in President Francois Hollande’s unpopular Government and then launching his own political movement.
The ministerial experience hasn’t hampered his progress. Being largely fresh-faced, mostly baggage-free and politically independent of the traditional parties in this presidential race was probably crucial.
Trump and Sanders used independence and outsider status to their advantage last year. Baggage tripped up Francois Fillon and Hillary Clinton. refer to his wife using the term “cougar” — a not exactly flattering word that describes older women seeking to be in a relationship with younger men.
In February, Macron also had to deny rumours that spread on social media that he was having a homosexual affair with the director of a leading French radio station.
“I have never had anything to hide,” he said in a statement, jokingly referring to the secrecy that had long overshadowed the relationship with his wife.
Being politically independent can mean being able to pick ’n’ mix policies without ideological party restraints — much as millions of voters prefer not to become tied-up traditional party members.
Washington Post reporter Rick Noack noted that, like Europe’s most successful politician, Macron has an ability to be fluid. “Like German Chancellor Merkel, Macron has distinguished himself with a mixture of pragmatism and a refusal to take a clear stance on certain issues. Like Merkel, Macron has taken a strong stand in favour of immigration and the European Union, however.”
That has set up a stark choice with Le Pen: optimism versus pessimism, open versus shut borders, globalist versus nationalist.
And also mainstream versus extreme.