Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, having decisively won the French presidential election, has become the youngest president France has ever had.
He appears to have done better in the big metropolitan areas and in the west and the south-west.
Le Pen did better in the rural peripheries as well as in the north, east, and in some parts of the south-east.
Macron was President Hollande’s Economy Minister, but quit his post to create his own party, “En Marche,” with its liberal pro-EU agenda. His effort opened up an untapped window -- he found a reservoir of support among the young, the disillusioned-but-optimistic, and the anti-cynics. Through his energy, his youth, and articulation, he has pulled off a political coup.
Macron outlined a constructive dynamic to generate support for his candidacy. While doing so he warned against nationalism and promised to boost the economy and improve security.
In this context, he sought support for himself by outlining the following wide-ranging measures that he and his team would try and adopt if he was elected as president of France.
This pro-active concept eventually paid dividends.
What’s his plan?
He suggested the following, sector-wise:
(a) Economy -- make budget savings of 60 billion euros so that France sticks to the EU deficit limit of 3% of GDP; make public investments worth 50bn euros spread over five years for environmental measures, apprenticeships, digital innovation and public infrastructure, and lower corporation tax to 25% from 33.3%.
(b) Labour market -- boost people’s purchasing power by cutting their social security contributions, maintaining a retirement age at 62, and unifying pension rules to reduce complexity.
In addition, with regard to other sensitive areas, he proved his pragmatism -- which included immigration, defence, and security, and education. That last one in particular is interesting -- in areas of special needs, limit class sizes in primary schools to 12 pupils per teacher and ensuring that at the age of 18, French teenagers will get a “cultural pass” worth 500 euros to spend on cultural pursuits such as the cinema, theatre, books.
He also addressed his concern towards two other issues: Political reform and energy and the environment.
The man who can deliver
Macron’s approach was obviously to project himself as a candidate who wanted to deliver on the economic and social dimensions of a sovereign Europe agenda. It was also meant to showcase that France’s EU path could also be an effective tool to deal with the negative forces of globalisation.
His manifesto rightly identified the issue of supporting, for example, EU minimum standards on access to training, healthcare, and social benefits, as well as the introduction of social and environmental clauses in trade agreements. Despite some future challenges, the French presidential election has confirmed the singularity of France’s semi-presidential regime and the exceptional character of an election that its initiator, Charles de Gaulle, once described as “the meeting between a man and a people.”
Macron’s ability to qualify his one-year-old movement through EM, ahead of Marine Le Pen, should be seen as resulting as much from his individual appeal to voters, as from the lack of credible alternatives among progressive candidates.
Some are viewing his victory with caution but at the same time are suggesting that he, in all probability, would not be a possible impediment in obtaining the better of the measure in future Brexit negotiations.
They are pointing out that Macron may want to cut taxes and water down workers’ rights, but he has to form a government to do it, and may need the support of French socialists who were excited by Benoit Hamon’s ideas of a universal basic income and 32-hour working week.
They are also drawing attention to the fact that Macron still has to overcome the challenge of coalition-building in the French Parliament after the parliamentary election to be held next month in June.
He will need to win over the abstainers and those who are sceptical about his political vision
Challenges ahead
Macron will face huge challenges as he attempts to enact his domestic agenda of cutting state-spending, easing labour laws, boosting education in deprived areas, and extending new supportive facilities to the self-employed. His biggest problem will be that he has a new political party and will still have to create a working parliamentary majority after the legislative elections next month. He has vowed to field candidates in all the 577 constituencies, with half of them women and half of them newcomers to politics.
This has prompted some politicians to remark that Macron has completed only half of his journey.
His economic agenda directed towards the weakening of labour regulations to fight high unemployment, will face fierce resistance from trade unions and his leftist opponents.
He will also inherit a country that is still in a state of emergency following a string of terrorist attacks. He will also need to remember that much of his campaign has stemmed from the need to defeat Le Pen. More than 25% of the electorate abstained from voting, while a record 11.5% of ballots were left blank or spoilt.
He will need to win over the abstainers and those who are sceptical about his political vision.
He will also need to address himself towards the left-wing voters, in particular those who felt disenfranchised by the choice of the final candidates.
He will have the difficult task of running a fractious, angry, and divided country. However, as an optimist, I feel relieved that the French chose a European future.
His, as tweeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was a “victory for a strong united Europe.”
Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador and Chief Information Commissioner of the Information Commission, is an analyst specialised in foreign affairs, right to information, and good governance. He can be reached at muhammadzamir0@gmail.com.