Nice to see massive public rallies in Paris–such as the one outside the Louvre on Sunday–for something other than shows of solidarity and defiance after a terrorist attack. The centrist Emmanuel Macron decisively won the French presidency, and France won by not choosing the far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen and not yielding to fear, scapegoating and narrow nationalism. The EU also won; a Frexit would have been cataclysmic.
Once the celebrations are over, reality will set in.
Macron’s En Marche Party is only a year old. He will have no party infrastructure as a new government is formed.
And the TV, print and internet folks will put his spouse, Brigitte Macron, squarely in its crosshairs. When you are a 30-something president with a 60-something wife who used to be your high school teacher, that’s media manna. Bon chance, President Macron.