Game over. The 2017 French presidential election campaign has finally come to an end. This unconventional campaign has torn French people into deep questioning. Affairs, primaries, populist figures, violence and an unprecedented final round in which French electors had to choose between a far-right candidate and a so-called “neither right neither left” candidate. Ultimately, centrist Emmanuel Macron won with 66 percent of the run-off vote, against 34 percent for Marine Le Pen, preserving France of the shame of electing an extreme leader to the presidency.
A few hundred meters away from the Louvre, where Macron celebrated his victory, a ghost living in the presidential Elysee palace is contemplating the events he partly bears responsibilities for. After a five-year term, Francois Hollande leaves his country in a weak posture. France has been shaken by terrorist attacks of an unknown scale, economic growth is almost flat and the unemployment rate is even higher than in 2012 when Hollande was elected.
What will French bistro customers argue about when referring to Hollande’s term? Same-sex marriage and adoption for sure. France’s major role in the war against terrorism in Saharan Africa, maybe. But most probably it will be the socialist president’s inability to achieve his set goal to reverse the unemployment rate trend.
Macron deserves fair congratulations. He ran a strong campaign relying on a party he created less than a year ago. He managed the feat of drafting ever-evolving agenda. And if during his electoral rallies he did not show brilliant oratory skills, he revealed himself to be a sharp debater. Now elected, Macron’s responsibility is to heal a wounded country and to restore its unity.
Le Pen can regret to have been absent from her own campaign. She permanently played the same role, a part in which she barked an unfinished agenda, never morphing into a serious alternative. It seems the extreme-right party National Front has reached its glass ceiling and Macron had only to lean on it to succeed.
Nevertheless, is Emmanuel Macron’s victory exempt of any shade? Gathering 66 percent of total votes is a very high score against a traditional right and left wings’ finalist in a presidential election. Let’s remember that in 2002 Jacques Chirac defeated Jean-Marie le Pen, Marine’s father, with more than 82 percent of the vote amid the highest voter turnout in French history: 84 percent.
Today, official consolidated scores should show a participation about 10 points lower than in 2002, around 74 percent, and an astonishing 11 percent of ballots left blank! Different times, different numbers.
In order to give sense to those numbers, consider that the second party in France in this second-round election with 35 percent is: abstention.
Here lies a splinter in Macron’s foot: He cannot be sure that his success meant adhesion. Macron will nominate a prime minister and a restrained 15 ministers’ government in charge of current affairs. Nevertheless, in 6 weeks, a “third round” is taking place. The legislative elections will allow the formation of a government with the legitimacy to rule France and to start the reforms France’s obviously needs. But only a soothsayer could predict those ones.
Jean de Nicolay (@juannite) is a consultant in lobbying and public affairs. He was a member of several French ministers’ cabinets until 2012. After being involved in Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign, he joined Francois Fillon’s government as a communication and parliamentary advisor.
If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.
