The extraordinary story of how an outsider candidate--an unknown technocrat
and economics minister on the fringes of French politics--made his way to
the Élysée palace, with expert analysis of his first year in office. Two
years after Emmanuel Macron came from nowhere to seize the French
presidency, Sophie Pedder, The Economist’s Paris bureau chief, tells the
story of his remarkable rise and time in office so far. In this paperback
edition, published with a new foreword by the author, Pedder reflects on
Macron’s troubles and triumphs: his dwindling popularity; the 'gilets
jaunes' protests and resulting civil unrest; his efforts to transform
France and lead the global fight against climate change; the Benalla
affair; his erratic relationships with Angela Merkel, Donald Trump,
Vladimir Putin and Theresa May, and the future of the European project. On
the eve of important European elections, and with nationalist and populist
forces rising across the continent, she considers whether Macron can hold
the centre ground and defend the multilateral liberal order against the
axis of such figures as Italy’s Matteo Salvini and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.
Pedder also analyses the domestic situation in France, the evolution of En
Marche, and the fall-out from Macron’s controversial reforms. Meticulously
researched and written in Pedder’s gripping and immensely readable style,
this is the essential, authoritative account for anyone wishing to
understand Macron and the future of France in the world.