Revolution Française

Starred review from July 9, 2018
Journalist Pedder, a longtime observer of French politics, argues in this excellent political biography that quiet revolutions—such as Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche political movement, which propelled him to the presidency of France in 2017—are no less ambitious than those driven by bomb-throwers and rioters in the street. After a beginning reminiscent of the dense and wordy essays of French political commentators, the author lays out the appealing contradictions of the man and his movement, which achieved what amounted to a “wholesale political clearout” of France’s sclerotic and dysfunctional parties and governing personages. Pedder is especially adept at outlining the foibles, arrogance, and self-serving dynamics of the preceding 20 years of French political history, often with a light, witty touch. Macron’s nonpartisan rise to power is, she says, effectively “detonating the two-party system” in Paris and throughout the rest of the country, where his aims of more flexible working rules would, he hopes, provide a much-needed jolt to the economy. The biographical sketch of Macron, slightly repetitive at times, portrays the young technocrat as an intriguing mix of formidable intellect, clear-eyed political calculation, and flashes of hubris. Wit, insight, and lots of time with the principal subject make this a terrific, beyond-the-basics introduction to present-day France for those who follow modern politics.

June 1, 2018
An optimistic view of France's future under Emmanuel Macron.Journalist Pedder, the Paris bureau chief of the Economist and commentator on French politics for CNN and the BBC, makes her literary debut with an insightful examination of the rise, vision, and potential impact of France's youngest president. Based on interviews with Macron, his staff, scores of politicians (including Macron's combative right-wing opponent, Marine Le Pen), as well as ordinary French citizens, the author offers an adroit, revealing overview of contemporary France and its dynamic leader. Macron, as Pedder portrays him, is nothing less than extraordinary, with "an ability to think ahead and see the big picture; a capacity to create and exploit opportunities, and take risks; and a determination, bordering on ruthlessness." Calm, focused, and hardworking, he "knows what he wants, and what he needs to do to get it." Early in his career, he had his eye on the presidency: He spent two years as adviser to François Hollande and then served another two years as his economy minister. Although positioned "at the heart of the French establishment," when he mounted his own campaign, he ran as an outsider, a disrupter, whose new party attracted the liberal center. Pedder ascribes his success to his "transgressive personality, an insolent ambition, a calculating visionary mind--and a big splash of luck." Scandals enveloping some opponents, as well as Le Pen's disastrous performance in a TV debate, helped to bolster Macron's image. The author underscores the difference between Macron and his predecessors, Jacques Chirac ("a professional schemer, old-school charmer and political chameleon"), flamboyant Nicolas Sarkozy, and tepid Hollande. She also offers a cleareyed view of Macron's many challenges, notably the "fracture running through the country, between prosperous and confident metropolitan centres and the drive-past second-tier towns and deserted rural areas." With only one year's administration to examine, the author draws on Macron's campaign promises to delineate his ambitions for addressing problems in education, unemployment, immigration, globalization, and relationships with the rest of Europe and America.An authoritative analysis of power and politics in contemporary France.

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