Quick march to the Élysée

“Voilà, c'est fait!” Emmanuel Macron, 39, is now the President of the French Republic, just a little over a year after creating his political movement En Marche! -inspired in the campaign that led Barack Obama to the White House, from nothing. In yesterday's second round of the elections his win over the far-right candidate Marine Le pen, was even greater than expected, giving him 65.5% of the vote. Just one year ago, no one would have given him a chance. The wide majority does not in fact reflect that high a level of acceptance from the French voters, given that one quarter of those eligible to vote stayed home. It does however, show the dissatisfaction on traditional Republican and Socialist voters, while on the other hand, demonstrates that younger voters can still be attracted to ideals.

Macron is in fact establishment. Educated at France's academy of leadership, the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, he worked in the Rothschild Investment bank before being seduced into the administration by Hollande, serving twice as minister before parting ways. As minister, he claimed he had seen “from inside the hollowness of our political system, which stops the majority of ideas that may threaten the machinery, the traditional parties, vested interests ... our political system is locked.” Much like Tony Blair, he has promised France a new deal. Despite clear warnings of harsh economic policies, the French reacted to the possibility of this young interloper as President without openly rejecting the idea. As the months passed and other candidates fell by the wayside, his candidature solidified and gained respect.