Editorial: Macron wins but trying times ahead

French President Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the presidential election will cause much relief in Western capitals. It is for the first time in two decades that France has elected an incumbent for the Elysee Palace for a second consecutive term. Though in terms of French elections, it could be called a ‘triumph’, it is not big enough against his rival Marine Le Pen. Macron captured 59% of votes while far right candidate Marine Le Pen trailed with 41.5% leading to an 18% gap between the two candidates.

While Macron was the favourite for the office, nothing should mask the reality that it is the most impressive performance by the far right so far. Macron had emerged from an election in the first round of which over 56% voters voted for a multiplicity of parties. Jean-Luc Melenchon of La France Insoumise group had captured the third place in the first round and narrowly missed continuing into the second round in France’s two round voting system.

Macron’s victory comes at a time when France is poised to be the unofficial leader of Europe in the wake of Germany’s shaky stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, given its dependence on Russian energy sources.

German President Olaf Scholz has been less than comfortable in offering full-fledged support to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. As a champion of European sovereignty in matters of defence, he will have all the confidence at his disposal to lead Europe— of course unofficially—to political stability and economic progress.

His first challenge would however lie in the general election for the Assemblee Nationale which is less than two months away with their two rounds scheduled for June 12 and June 19. Melenchon is just waiting at the margins asking Left-wing voters to elect him as prime minister through a victory in the Parliamentary election. The Presidential elections have proved his mettle and attested him to be the choicest among the Leftists. It is useful to be reminded that while Melenchon did not call for his supporters to back Macron in the second round, he asked them to ensure that not a single vote went to Marine Le Pen.

With the Left having garnered a sizeable chunk of votes, the French polity has to contend with the fact that it is much more fragmented now while the system was ideally conceived for bipolarity.

Macron’s greatest asset lies in his opposition to both left and right extremes. For the second round he did not make any special effort to woo the Leftist voters and focused on weaning away those who voted for the Right. That gamble paid him dividends. It is expected that Macron will continue to push for some moderate reforms like pushing the retirement age to 65 and tightening sanctions against Russia. But ultimately his test will lie on how successful he is in securing a majority in the 522-member Assemblee Nationale.