Meet Emmanuel Macron, the former investment banker who will be the next French president
Macron, a 39-year-old pro-business centrist, defeated Marine Le Pen, a far-right nationalist who called for France to
exit the European Union, by a margin of 66.1% to 33.9%, according to the French Interior Ministry.
Emmanuel Macron will be the next French president after winning the election in a landslide on Sunday, May 7.
Macron, a 39-year-old pro-business centrist, defeated Marine Le Pen, a far-right nationalist who called for France to exit the European Union, by a margin of 66.1% to 33.9%, according to the French Interior Ministry.
A former investment banker, Macron served for two years under President Franois Hollande as Minister of Economy, Industry, and Digital Data, but had never held elected office. He only truly entered the public discourse when he rebelled against Hollandes socialist party and ran as an independent presidential candidate for his En Marche! (Onwards!) movement.
Now, he will become the youngest president in Frances history. Heres what you need to know:
Emmanuel Macron was born on December 21, 1977, in Amiens, a city in northern France. He studied philosophy at university, and later, broke with the family tradition of practicing medicine and instead became a financial investment banker.
Emmanuel Macron outside 10 Downing Street in central London.Reuters/Stefan Wermuth
He is the eldest child of Jean-Michel Macron and Franoise Macron-Nogues, and the only family member not to have pursued a career in medicine.
His dad was a neurologist at the University Hospital of Amiens, while his mother was a pediatrician. His younger brother and sister also kept to the family tradition, becoming a cardiologist and nephrologist, respectively.
Macron, on the other hand, has had a fairly non-linear career path. In high school, Macron studied sciences, before going on to take philosophy at Nanterre university.
The apprentice philosopher then left Nanterre to head to the Institute of Political Science (Sciences Po), before studying at the cole nationale dadministration (ENA), two of the most prestigious French schools.
After studying, he became a financial investment banker at Rotschild Cie., which he left in 2012, before becoming deputy secretary-general at the Elyse. He then served in Franois Hollandes cabinet as economy minister.
In 2007, Macron married his former high-school French teacher Brigitte Trogneux, who is 24 years his senior.
The couple met at the private, catholic school La Providence in Amiens. At the time, he was 15 years old.
Brigitte Trogneux was, according to the IB Times, charmed by young Macrons intelligence and once stated: Emmanuels skills are totally above average. You can say I say this because were married, but this is the teacher speaking.
During a speech at their wedding, Macron thanked family and friends for accepting and supporting the couple throughout the years.
Macrons political career started in 2014, when he was asked by French President Francois Hollande to replace Arnaud Montebourg as Minister of Economy, Industry, and Digital Data.
Macrons predecessor was considered a protectionist, and his most famous campaign was probably Made in France, where he pushed individuals to buy French products over foreign goods.
Macron on the other hand, is pro-businesses, pro-EU, and even urged American scientists, academics, and entrepreneurs, who feel uneasy about President Donald Trumps administration, to move to France.
Montebourg was essentially sacked because he was outspoken about government cuts. A threat the Hollande government averted by ousting Montebourg from his position.
Macron was tasked with reforming Frances economy after zero growth for the past three years.
One of Macrons biggest accomplishments as a minister under Hollande is his eponymous pro-business Loi Macron. He wrote it to steer the socialist government towards more business-friendly policies and wrote it with Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
This was the first law he tried to pass as economy minister and it was extremely unpopular with the French population as well as Parliament. Many believed that it went against the socialist values of France.
The law was actually so unpopular with both the National Assembly and Senate that it had to be passed by invoking article 49, which made it a question of confidence in Parliament.
The law was a solution to shake up an economy drowning in rules and regulations as well as boost growth. Interestingly, there was no mention of the 35-hour-week working limit, which Macron is extremely vocal about as he says it constrains business.
Though Macron was Hollandes mentee they met in 2006 through a friend, and reports state that they got along well the relationship became complicated when Macron launched his movement En Marche! which roughly translates as forward.
In March 2015, Macron was asked in a radio interview with Europe 1 whether he wanted Franois Hollande to be president again. Macron stated that he was loyal to Hollande and the president of France was the legitimate candidate.
A year later, he launched his movement En Marche! Francois Hollande said of his protg: he needs to be in the team, under my authority.
Though Macron served in a socialist government, he is standing for presidency as an independent, socially liberal, and pro-business centrist candidate. This is seen by many as a rebellion.
On April 6, 2016, the political novice, who had never stood for any kind of election, announced in his hometown of Amiens the launch of his party. He resigned from government four months later.At the beginning of November 2016, he announced his candidacy for the highest office in the country. At the time, Macron was unknown to most French people.
Starting a movement from scratch, as an unknown candidate, without any experience of how to campaign for a municipal election let alone for the presidency, is a fairly unconventional move in French politics.
He has, however, managed to make a success out of it. Macrons website claims that there are 200,000 members of En Marche! although he recently stated in an interview with Quotidien his movement had 220,000 members. Those numbers are difficult to verify, however.
Macron paints himself as a maverick and anti-establishment, which could serve him well. Like Trump, Macron has been successful in part because he is seen as not being part of the political elite.
Macron waves from his car as he leaves his home during the second round of the election, in Paris, France, May 7, 2017.Thomson Reuters
He positions himself at the centre of the political spectrum, trying to woo moderates from both the left, and the right.
This proved advantageous in a year where all other candidates were the extreme versions of their own parties.
Benot Hamon, for example, is a radical in the social party who advocated for a 32-hour work week. Even Franois Fillon, the presidential candidate in the Republican party eventually brought down by a string of scandals, seduced Front National voters as he is a proud Catholic and champions old-fashioned family values.
And then there is Front Nationals Le Pen, a divisive figure linked to anti-immigrant policies and whose father was convicted of racism several times. Despite her success in the first round, Le Pen was unable to mobilise a majority of the French behind her in the second round.
Macrons road to victory, however, was not easy. On March 14, 2017, a probe was launched into possible favouritism over a 2016 CES event in Las Vegas where Macron was the main speaker.
Organised while Macron was in charge of the Minister of Economy, it is alleged that public relations giant Havas was awarded a major contract to organise the event without competition.
However, the candidates aide told the AFP that the investigation is in no way a story about Macron, and that investigators are looking at Business France, the firm tasked with organising the event.
His reported close ties to US presidential candidate Hilary Clinton are not popular in certain corners of the French press, while there are also allegations he used public funds to finance his own presidential campaign.
Macron with former US Secretary of State John Kerry.REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
Earlier in February, a top aide of Macrons also accused Russia of hacking attempts and spreading fake information about him in Kremlin-backed news outlets. He claimed that this was due to Macrons pro-EU stance.
Then, on Friday, May 5, less than two days before the second round of voting, Macrons campaign was the target of a massive computer hack.
Around nine gigabytes of data, including contracts, emails, and accounting documents, were shared by an anonymous user online and began spreading on social media.
Macrons campaign was able to issue a statement just minutes before a midnight blackout went into effect, preventing officials from commenting on the hack. Despite the last-minute leak, Macron defeated Le Pen by a margin of 66.06% to 33.94%.
Macrons expected margin of victory was bigger than the gap shown by pre-election polls, which had projected a Macron victory by around 20 points.
His victory will serve as a relief to European allies who had feared another populist result after Britains vote to exit the European Union and Donald Trumps ascension to US president last year.
Macron is untested in the world of politics, but his lack of experience and vow to return morals to politics likely drew supporters. Macron will be inaugurated on May 14, when Hollande is expected to step down.
Emmanuel Macron sings the French national anthem at the end of a political rally in Lille, France January 14, 2017.REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
A new page in our long history this evening. I would like it to be one of hope and of confidence rediscovered, the Macron campaign said in a statement following his victory against Le Pen.
He must now work to win a majority for his En Marche! party in next months parliamentary elections.
The movement is just about one year old and will have to field hundreds of candidates in the elections.
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