France needs a proper debate ahead of its presidential election
But time is running out
FIVE YEARS ago a little-known former economy minister won the French presidency in his first bid for elected office. Emmanuel Macron, then 39, became the country’s youngest leader since Napoleon Bonaparte. On April 10th and 24th France will hold its next two-round presidential election. Mr Macron hopes to defy precedent again by securing a second term. This would be quite a feat. For the past 20 years no French president has been re-elected. Only two, François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, have won a second term since Charles de Gaulle in 1965.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Macron, and on”
From the March 5th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
A fantastic start for Friedrich Merz
The incoming chancellor signals massive increases in defence and infrastructure spending
The lesson from Trump’s Ukrainian weapons freeze
And the grim choice facing Volodymyr Zelensky
Western leaders must seize the moment to make Europe safe
As they meet in London, Vladimir Putin will sense weakness
Prabowo Subianto takes a chainsaw to Indonesia’s budget
The result? More money for the president’s boondoggles
Inheriting is becoming nearly as important as working
More wealth means more money for baby-boomers to pass on. That is dangerous for capitalism and society
Donald Trump has begun a mafia-like struggle for global power
But the new rules do not suit America