The alacrity European leaders showed in congratulating Emmanuel Macron on his emphatic victory said it all. France’s president-in-waiting is an assiduous advocate of openness and internationalism. He is a committed pro-European, who marched on stage on Sunday night to the strains of the EU’s anthem and pledged in his first address to defend the continent’s values and rebuild its links with citizens. Above all, he is not Marine Le Pen.
Yet the widespread relief at his election — with a commanding 66 per cent of the vote, more than polls had predicted — must be tempered by realism.
Mr Macron’s achievement, becoming the youngest ever occupant of the Elysée Palace with no experience of elected office and none of the supporting machinery of a traditional political party, is astonishing. He was aided by the implosion of his Republican and Socialist rivals and also, thankfully, by the large majority that remains resolved to deny the far-right power, even if they dislike the alternative.
