The French elections are a test for Emmanuel Macron – and his politics of moderation

Reactivating his centrist base and reconnecting with ‘left behind’ voters will be vital if the success of ‘Macronisme’ is to survive Macron himself, writes Vince Cable

Macron represents something bigger than success in France’s idiosyncratic politics (REUTERS)

On Sunday, French voters will give their verdict on five years of Emmanuel Macron’s period in office in the first round of the presidential elections. Polling suggests that he is the strong favourite to go into the second round, with a rematch of the 2017 election against Marine Le Pen, and then to win, albeit with a smaller majority.

His biggest problems appear to be political apathy and complacency amongst his centrist supporters, as well as shallow support for his wider party, En Marche.

To those of us of a liberal political persuasion, Macron represents something bigger than success in France’s idiosyncratic politics. He stands for moderate, liberal, outward-looking, European values in a world which has been turned politically on its head by the populism and nationalism of Trump and Brexit and by the emergence of autocratic strongmen in many countries.