London

AFTER the success of Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the French presidential elections, markets around the world rallied strongly. The centrist candidate who has pledged to radically reform the French economy took 24 per cent of the vote, and is predicted to win the final round on May 7 with support from 60 per cent of the electorate. But a Macron victory will not automatically end the long wait for a genuine turn-up in France's economic and social fortunes.

The past 12 months of politics in the US and UK have taught us to look out for the unorthodox. Mr Macron's rival Marine Le Pen of the National Front, who has bizarrely stepped down temporarily as party leader in an attempt to widen support, represents the extreme right but her politics should not affect our judgement. She polled 21 per cent in the first round, ensuring neither of France's two established parties on the right and left made it through to the run-off.