If you believe the hype, Emmanuel Macron is l’anti-Trump. He is what the inter-national centre-left, reeling from the shocks of Brexit and the US election and fearful of a victory for Marine Le Pen in France, is crying out for: a politician who can win again. He is only 39 years old, handsome and radical sounding. He’s not a career politico; he used to work as a banker for the Rothschilds (every-body loves them). He wears sharp suits and he’s written a book called Révolution.
Better still, he has a buzzing movement behind him: his ‘En Marche!’ (Let’s go!) campaign has excited trendy progressives. He is not bogged down with formal connections to the loathed establishment. Surely he could beat Le Pen to the French presidency in the second-round vote on 7 May? Surely?
This week Macron came to London (France’s sixth city, in terms of number of French residents). At Methodist Central Hall he addressed a crowd of 3,500 mostly young Londoniens and the atmosphere was almost religious.
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