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
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