Understanding the Macron phenomenon

`THE Macron phenomenon is essentially threefold: statistical, political and programmatic.

The statistical story is paradoxical. Media projections of the Macron phenomenon suggested an overwhelming victory for the young president. In the first round of the French presidential election on April 23, Emmanuel Macron attracted more than 8.5 million votes, representing 23.8 per cent of votes cast and 18 per cent of registered voters.

In the second round on May 7, he received 20.7 million votes, 66 per cent of votes cast, but still a minority, 43 per cent, of registered voters. In the first round of legislative elections on June 11, Mr Macron's freshly-minted party, La République en Marche (LRM), drawing support from across the political spectrum and in alliance with another centrist party, attracted only 7.3 million votes, representing 32 per cent of votes cast and 15 per cent of registered voters. In the second round, LRM elected 350 deputies, fewer than the 400 that had been predicted. This was due to a record - and premonitory - rate of abstentions, over 57 per cent.