Friday 15 June 2018
07:45
Sophie Pedder
Emmanuel Macron and the quest to reinvent a nation
He emerged from nowhere to seize the presidency, defeat populism and upend French party politics. A year on, Sophie Pedder asks who is Emmanuel Macron and how far can he really change France?
In Revolution Française, Sophie Pedder examines the first year in office of France’s youngest and most exciting president in modern times. President Emmanuel Macron’s vision for France is far more radical than many realise. His remarkable ascent from obscurity to the presidency is both a dramatic story of personal ambition and the tale of a wounded once-proud country in deep need of renewal.
This book chronicles Macron’s remarkable rise from independent outsider to the Élysée Palace, situating the achievement in a broader context: France’s slide into self-doubt, political gridlock and a seeming reluctance to embrace change; the roots of populism and discontent; the fractures caused by globalisation and the Le Pen factor.
Sophie has been Bureau Chief of The Economist since 2003. She has interviewed Emmanuel Macron on numerous occasions since 2012, and followed him closely during the 2017 election campaign, securing notebooks of first-hand material on which this book is based.
An award-winning journalist, she appears regularly to comment on French politics on CNN, the BBC and other media.
"An important book on Europe’s most influential leader and whether liberalism has a future."
Sophie has been Bureau Chief of The Economist since 2003. She has interviewed Emmanuel Macron on numerous occasions since 2012, and followed him closely during the 2017 election campaign, securing notebooks of first-hand material on which this book is based.
An award-winning journalist, she appears regularly to comment on French politics on CNN, the BBC and other media.