Adam Page, Paris, May 8, 2017<\/p>\n
The pop music had stopped and the crowd had fallen silent in expectation when a small figure in a dark coat emerged, alone, into the vast courtyard of the Louvre in Paris.<\/p>\n
This was Emmanuel Macron\u2019s victory party but his arrival was cloaked in solemn symbolism.<\/p>\n
Here, in the building that embraces France\u2019s past like no other \u2014 a palace in the ancien r\u00e9gime and a museum since the Revolution \u2014 he began to write a new chapter in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
As he undertook a long, solitary march around the glass pyramid, his shoulders hunched slightly as if bowing under the weight of the task ahead, Beethoven\u2019s Ode to Joy <\/i>filled the air. This is the European Union\u2019s anthem, and was a clear statement of his proEuropean intentions.<\/p>\n
As the music finished Mr Macron climbed the steps to the stage and faced a crowd of thousands gathered under the night sky. Some were jubilant supporters wearing Macron Pr\u00e9sident badges; others were simply keen to see their new head of state, a man unknown to the public only three years ago and without the backing of an established political party.<\/p>\n
“This evening France has won,\u201d he said as tricolour flags waved and a roar of approval echoed off the Louvre. \u201cWhat we have achieved is without precedent, without equivalent. They said it was impossible but they do not know France.”<\/p>\n
He said that Europe and the world was watching France and expected the French to \u201cdefend the spirit of enlightenment threatened in so many places. They expect us to defend freedom everywhere, to protect the oppressed. They expect us to carry a new hope and a new humanism. They expect us to be ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
He concluded: \u201cI will serve you with humility, with strength. I will serve you in the name of our motto, liberty, equality, fraternity. I will serve you with love.\u201d<\/p>\n
His speech had hardly ended before the crowd started to chant \u201cBrigitte, Brigitte\u201d and Brigitte Trogneux, 64, the teacher who became his wife, appeared on stage, tears in her eyes as she blew kisses and held her husband\u2019s arm aloft.<\/p>\n
Soon she was joined by her children and grandchildren and by members of Mr Macron\u2019s team. They stood together, Mr Macron with his hand on his heart and smiling, to sing La Marseillaise<\/i>.<\/p>\n
At the end of it he hugged and kissed a young girl, whom most observers assumed to be one of his wife\u2019s seven grandchildren.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to be here because this is a party for the people,\u201d said Christophe Freudenreich, 53, a computer engineer, who had come with his wife, two children and six friends. \u201cI am happy that Marine Le Pen has been beaten. That is the most important thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the crowd was Pierre Cieslak, a 26-year-old Parisian student wearing a T-shirt with an EU flag . He had been convinced by Mr Macron\u2019s consistent pro-European stance, he said. \u201cWe are witnessing the birth of a new European movement. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a victory for Europe but it is certainly an important moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next to him were Charlotte Revers\u00e9, 46, and her husband, Jean-Philippe, 45, who works in the car industry. \u201cI almost see this as a new dawn,\u201d Mr Revers\u00e9 said. \u201cWith the baby boomers heading for retirement, it is now Generation X and Y which is going to manage our future.\u201d Like many of Mr Macron\u2019s supporters, the couple hailed his pro-European line. \u201cHe will take a tough stance over Brexit and I would support that,\u201d Mr Revers\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n
Marc Birman, 40, said: \u201cIt will be a good thing for Britain that there is a pro-European president in France. It may help the British to soften their stance on Brexit and that would be a good thing for them. I am happy to be here because Macron is a new type of politician. He is someone who can bring people together whether they are on the right or the left. He will get them to work together. I was really afraid that we were going to wake up and discover that we had a fascist as president.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of those in the crowd warned, however, that in a divided country where the far right had polled more votes than ever before, Mr Macron\u2019s honeymoon would be short-lived. Mr Revers\u00e9 said: \u201cHe is going to have to tackle key reforms fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Cieslak agreed. \u201cA lot of people I know voted for him with some reluctance. They voted for him because they did not want Marine Le Pen. A lot of people in this country are scared, angry and sad. A lot of French people do not believe in politics any more and Mr Macron will have to address that.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s parliamentary elections also loomed large. Some doubt that Mr Macron can obtain a majority, depriving him of the levers of power. Mr Birman, however, was confident. \u201cEven if he does not get a majority, he will be able to form a coalition like they do in Germany and get his reforms that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
On The President’s Agenda<\/p>\n