Emmanuel Macron is the man Europe wants; his win will soothe nerves frayed from Brexit

Emmanuel Macron is a former investment banker who has never held elected office. [caption id=“attachment_3428738” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Emmanuel Macron. Reuters[/caption] Running as an independent, Macron formed the En Marche! party after serving as economics minister under French President Francois Hollande. He has described himself as “pro European Union and pro immigrant.” In his political rallies, Macron encourages supporters to wave both the French tricolor and the European Union flags. Indeed, a political observer recently noted: “He seems not to have a nationalistic bone in his body.” He is the man Europe wants. So much so that European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker broke protocol of staying neutral and took to Twitter to publicly congratulate Macron for winning the first round against Marine Le Pen. A commission spokesman later clarified that according to the EU, the decision facing the French electorate “was a fundamental one”, between Macron, who represents pro-Europe values, and Le Pen, who “seeks its destruction”. If polls are to be believed, Macron will be sworn into office as the French president. What a Macron victory would mean for Europe Macron describes himself as being pro European Union. That might let the other EU leaders breathe easy, but it does not let them off the hook entirely. Macron is determined to implements “reforms” into the European Union, which would include having a common budget, finance minister, working together on defence and perhaps the biggest project: strengthening the Euro. “The euro is a weak deutsche mark,” Macron has said. “The status quo is synonymous, in 10 years’ time, with the dismantling of the euro.” “The truth is that we must collectively recognise that the euro is incomplete and cannot last without major reforms. It has not provided Europe with full international sovereignty against the dollar on its rules. It has not provided Europe with a natural convergence between the different member states," he added. Macron has also said he was “wary of globalisation” as “not everyone respects the rules so we will turn the protection of European industry into one of the major pillars of reinventing the EU.” He is also determined to make Paris a rival to London when it comes to banking and finance, which will inevitably cause friction with the UK. What a Macron victory would mean for the world Some believe that a Macron win would end the populist wave that seemed to be making its way around the world after Brexit and the Trump win. That might be premature. However, Macron wants closer ties with the West and is seemingly wary of Vladimir Putin, which would be music to the ears of prominent leaders.