Emmanuel Macron, a name most French people had barely even heard of three years ago, has now reached the pinnacle of power in the French political system with a resounding win over Front National leader Marine Le Pen. Capturing 65 percent of the vote ain’t bad for a political novice who has never held elected office in his life and who was largely a technocrat in the Finance Ministry for most of his career.
And yet, here he is, three years after receiving a government ministry, besting two establishment parties in France and putting to rest, at least temporarily, the notion that Europe is being swept under a populist wave of closed borders, anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-European Union animus.
It’s easy to see Macron’s win as a gigantic victory for the European political establishment. When compared with Le Pen — a candidate who blasts the European Union as a globalist tool to keep the French in line — Macron is the E.U.’s boy-wonder.
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, tweeted that with Macron’s win, “the French chose a European future.” “Congratulations to French people for choosing Liberty, Equality and Fraternity over tyranny of fake news,” tweeted E.U. Council President Donald Tusk. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the top target for populists this year, can breathe a little bit easier knowing that she won’t have to deal with an E.U.-hating Le Pen, who despises much of what Merkel’s Germany represents.
But don’t be fooled: Macron’s success at the polls is also a major upset for the French establishment.
While it’s certainly true that a President Le Pen would have been a bombshell the size of Britain’s Brexit vote or President Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton, Macron’s triumph at the polls is an unquestionable indictment of how divided many French are from their political leaders.
Macron understands that the current mood of the French electorate is angry, disappointed, depressed and seething at how the country’s two major political parties have acted. Indeed, French voters looked upon political elites during this race as disgusting creatures riddled with corruption and incompetence. They saw in Macron a refreshing face who has never run a race before and who is scandal-free.
As Francis Morel, a 54-year old French citizen told the Washington Post, “We’ve had 50 years of rule from the left and the right. Nothing has changed.” The Republicans and the Socialists, the two political parties that have dominated the French political landscape in the post-war era, are no longer producing what the French people are looking for — particularly, an improvement in the economy and lower unemployment levels.
Macron saw that he couldn’t run as a Socialist candidate like his former boss, Francois Hollande, because Hollande is a political leper that would drag any Socialist candidate in the gutter with him. So he created his own party, managed to build up membership and competed in a presidential contest with multiple candidates. He understood that France’s center-left and center-right parties were reviled by the French people, and he chose to start from scratch, presenting a third way.
Yes, it’s true: Macron is a pro-business, pro-E.U., pro-immigration candidate, qualities that would get you quite far in Brussels. But Macron actually has a similarity with Trump: They both conquered their respective political establishments and prevailed against career politicians who have been working within the system for their entire lives.
Daniel DePetris (@DanDePetris) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. His opinions are his own.
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