Can Macron deliver on promise to remake France?

In an age of rising political extremes on the far right and far left, his careful centre is not sure to hold

or months, Emmanuel Macron — the dashing, youthful independent candidate for the French presidency — has been making promises. With a spring in his step, the former investment banker and recent Socialist economy minister has sought to charm voters on both ends of France’s deeply divided ideological spectrum, with a catchall platform committed to social liberalism on the one hand and fiscal responsibility on the other. But what Macron has really been promising his troubled country is forward motion.

The idea has been the essence of the Macron campaign from the start. Notably, his movement is called ‘En Marche!’ — ‘Onward!’ And if there is a single statement that best encapsulates the gist of Macron’s agenda, it is likely the line from Revolution, his 2016 book in which he identifies his greatest enemy as the “obstacles placed on the road” towards the “renewal of ideas and men.”

But less than a week to go before the first round of the election, the question is whether Macron, long considered the favourite in the race, and his romantic, often lofty proposals can persuade a largely undecided and disillusioned electorate to join his march. In an age of political extremes — in which those voters certain to participate have increasingly said they will support the far right or far left — Macron’s careful centre is not sure to hold.

As the twin extremes of Marine Le Pen on the right and Jean-Luc Melenchon on the left have begun siphoning off disaffected voters with radical proposals to leave the European Union and return to different visions of a protectionist welfare state, Macron has been struggling to present himself as the candidate best equipped to address the ultimate concerns of France’s angry, abandoned voters. Central to his pitch has been an acknowledgment that these voters are more than entitled to their anger. With unemployment around 10 per cent for years — and as high as 26 per cent for citizens between ages 18 and 25 — Macron has urged voters to hold on to their anger, but to think carefully about its real and structural causes.

In recent weeks, analysts have speculated whether scenes like these have begun to mirror the final days of Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the US. Although polls have remained fairly consistent, with Macron coming out on top, approximately one in three French voters still say they are undecided. But others see real potential for Macron to convert the lingering anger among middle- and lowermiddle-class voters into a much-needed boost in the campaign’s last leg. In Besancon, a significantly diverse crowd gathered from near and far to see their preferred candidate. Students came from schools in town, while others bused in from as far as Strasbourg, a nearly three-hour drive. Marthe Scherly, 78, was among the locals. A lifelong Socialist voter, she is backing Macron because in this election, she said, “the Socialist party has too much wrong with it.”

Asked whether she believed that the 39-year-old contender would deliver on his many promises, she said she wasn’t sure. “That’s the risk,” she said. “That’s always the risk. But how are the others any different?” reporter in Paris.