Election of Macron puts France ‘back in picture’
Crowds sang the EU anthem and waved its flag to celebrate new president, rebuff of the far right.
It was a striking LONDON — moment when Emmanuel Macron, newly elected pres- ident of France, torchbearer of a new politics, strode onto a courtyard of the Louvre to celebrate his victory: As
the crowd cheered, waving the tricolor French flag, the choice of music was “Ode to Joy,” the anthem of the European Union. Some people even waved the bloc’s flag, with its circle of golden stars.
For the past year, and lon- ger, the European Union has been politically radio- active, deemed untouchable by most mainstream candi- dates for national office in Europe. Yet Macron, 39, not only embraced the embattled bloc, he proclaimed member- ship of it to be a necessity for France’s future: needful of reform, certainly, but some- thing to embrace rather than run from. And he defeated the most europhobic of oppo- nents, the far-right nation- alist Marine Le Pen.
Nathalie Tocci, director of the Institute for International Affairs in Rome, said Macron’s victory had helped the bloc avoid a cataclysm. “The alternative would have been the end of the European Union,” she said. “It means France is back in the picture.”
If France is again vital to European affairs, any euphoria is certain to be shortlived. First, Macron faces many domestic challenges in translating his centrist promises into policy and in assuaging those millions who voted for Le Pen, cast blank ballots or did not vote at all.
Beyond that, the European Union can hardly take a victory lap. The bloc has survived the Le Pen threat, but it is still deeply unpopular in many countries and has yet to answer the existential question of what sort of union it wants to be. There are doubts about whether it can inspire Europeans and regain their trust. Nationalism and populism are hardly dead, even in France, where Le Pen has already pivoted to focus on parliamentary elections next month.
The populist threat to the European Union “remains alive and has to be taken seriously,” said Stefan Lehne, a former Austrian diplomat
and a visiting scholar with Carnegie Europe..
If he is a political novice, Macron is also suddenly a power broker in a European bloc dominated by a Germany that is largely ecstatic about his victory and eager for him to succeed, but that is also in conflict with some of his priorities. Macron has called for a stronger European core built around the euro, for a common eurozone budget and for a new “finance minister” for the eurozone — ideas currently anathema to Germany, let alone other demands, such as eurozone bonds.