Who is Emmanuel Macron? The political outsider who could become France's youngest ever president

Frontrunner: Emmanuel Macron
REUTERS
Hatty Collier24 April 2017
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Emmanuel Macron is set to go head-to-head with Marine Le Pen in the fight for the French presidency after its two major parties crashed out of the first round.

In a seismic shift in French politics, independent centrist Macron, who launched his political movement En Marche! (On the Move!) in April 2016, was placed first with 23.75 per cent of the vote.

Ms Le Pen, the far-right Front National leader, was just behind on 21.52 per cent in Sunday’s vote.

Mr Macron, 39, who could become the youngest president of France ever, had resigned from his post as the government’s economy minister just four months after setting up En Marche.

With just weeks to go until he faces Ms Le Pen in a run-off on May 7, this is what you need to know about the unexpected front-runner.

En Marche's Emmanuel Macron will go head-to-head with the far right Front National party's Marine Le Pen
AFP/Getty Images

Background

Mr Macron was born into a middle-class family in the northern city of Amiens where he was educated at mostly private schools. He is the son of a doctor and neurology professor.

He fell in love with his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, a chocolate-maker heiress who is 24 years his senior, when she was his drama teacher in high school and he was just 15.

His defied his parents, who disapproved of the relationship and sent him away to Paris, by marrying her in 2007. She has three children from a previous marriage and seven grandchildren.

Mr Macron has degrees in philosophy and public affairs and also attended the elite National School of Administration, which counts Francois Hollande among its graduates.

Before he became a full-time politician, he worked as a civil servant for the French treasury and as an investment banker.

Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte
AFP/Getty Images

Political career in government

In 2012, he left Rothschild investment bank for a senior position in Francois Hollande’s staff, deputy secretary general in Elysee Palace.

In 2014, he was made the youngest economy minister in France since Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who went on to become president.

He forged a reputation with the controversial “Macron Law” - a series of reforms that allowed shops to open more often on Sundays and deregulated some sectors of industry.

The law was forced through by Prime Minister Manuel Valls despite large protests from left-wing rebels.

Mr Macron, a champion of digital start-ups, was well liked by the French business community with his list of pro-business policies aimed at boosting economic growth.

Emmanuel Macron (pictured here with President Francois Hollande) resigned as economy minister from the French government
AFP/Getty Images

The En Marche movement and what Mr Macron stands for

His position in government became increasingly awkward when he set up his centrist political movement En Marche in April and he was threatened with the sack by Mr Hollande.

“If you don’t respect the rules, you’re out,” the president said.

By August, he had resigned to focus on “a new step in my battle to build a project… that isn’t compatible with being in government”.

Mr Macron insists he is “neither Left nor Right” but “for France”. He is firmly on the Left on social issues including equality, immigration and freedom to practise religion in a secular state.

En Marche now boasts more than 200,000 followers and has developed a platform that mixes public investment with business-friendly policies

Mr Macron has plans to end France’s 35-hour week for younger workers in favour of longer hours.

He also wants workers over 50 to have the option of a shorter week.

He has radical plans to cut the size of some primary school classes and to provide every 18-year-old with a “culture-pass” which will be worth 500 euros and allow young people to discover France, buy books and attend museums.

Mr Macron is staunchly pro-EU.

Mr Macron set up the En Marche movement in April 2016
AFP/Getty Images

Controversy

At a protest in June held by the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union, he was pelted with eggs and told to “get lost” after telling a union member “the best way to afford a suit is to work”.

He sparked controversy with comments condemning France’s colonial past in Algeria. Mr Macron was hit by a wave of criticism when he said France’s history in Algeria was a “crime against humanity”.

Algerians lived under French rule for 132 years until it won a bloody war of independence in 1962.

He later apologised in response to criticism from French nationals who had to leave Algeria in 1962.

His actions led to a brief setback in the polls.

Mr Macron and his wife arrive to vote at the Touquet polling station in the first round of the French presidential election
Getty Images

He has repeatedly quashed rumours that he is having a homosexual affair, which he claims were started by the entourage of former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

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