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| A new political wind is blowing in France |
So the legislatives have been won,
and the final part of what future history books will record as the
Macronian conquest is complete.
In truth it has all happened so
quickly - little more than a year from the germ of an idea to Elysian
omnipotence - that the country feels slightly dazed.
People are
looking at their new leader, and many more than voted for him are
honestly impressed by his calibre. But many are also wondering: so where
do we go from here?
For there is an unknown aspect to the coming mandate that sets it apart from all that went before.
It is not just the newness of it all: the fact that President
Macron's party didn't exist until he dreamed it up, and that half of the
new parliamentarians will need lessons (literally) in how to do their
jobs.
And that never before - at least not since Charles de Gaulle
in 1958 - has a head of state had such a powerful majority, made up of
men and women who depend on him so personally for their new careers.
And
that the opposition has been reduced to a rump, thanks to the dégagiste
(kick 'em out) imperative that wipes out sitting MPs in droves.
It is also that at heart Emmanuel Macron himself remains something of an enigma.
When he was 22, and already a precocious high-flier, the president
spent several months as the amanuensis of one of France's then most
respected philosophers, Paul Ricoeur.
The name will mean little to
most people, but according to the experts, one of the key elements of
Ricoeurian philosophy is the "ability to think at the same time two
ideas that are apparently opposed".
For example - in a political
context - that could mean supporting the freeing up of the labour market
and protecting the most vulnerable. Or slimming down the state and
ensuring that France's social contract remains intact.
The heart of the philosophy is a generous one: the recognition that
neither side in an argument holds a monopoly of the truth, and that the
best policies are ones that combine some elements of both.
Macron's
adherence to this scheme of thought was most obvious in the
pre-presidential debates, when his use of the phrase "au même temps" (at
the same time) was much noted upon - implying as it did a constant bid
to reconcile apparently contradictory ideas.
All this is very well - and his sincere desire to bring together left and right no doubt contributed greatly to his success.
But the enigma is this: when it comes to acting, rather than talking, which way will the president jump?
Read more: Emmanuel Macron's conquest is complete - what now? - BBC News
