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In Britain we used our cover to endorse the Labour Party after 14 years of Conservative rule. In the rest of the world we asked what the gloomy fate of Emmanuel Macron says about successful reform in democracies.
Mr Macron’s seven years as president have seen a sustained effort to remake France as a modern, business-friendly economy. Growth is above the euro-zone average, and poverty rates below it. Our cover needed to get across the central fact of this election. In spite of all these benefits, French voters want to give Mr Macron’s coalition a kicking.
Another way to suggest France in peril would be to topple the Eiffel Tower. Paris is the symbol of Mr Macron’s successes. In a month, it will welcome the world to the 33rd Olympiad. The City of Light is now a hub for tech companies and a banking centre that is starting to rival London. Urban renewal, driven by a good mix of public investment and private enterprise, is sprouting in Lyon, Dijon and even once-grimy Lille.
Unfortunately, the Etoile was hard to recognise and the Eiffel Tower a bit tired.
Above, we have adapted Jacques-Louis David’s painting of Napoleon crossing the Alps—except instead of riding Marengo, the hapless Mr Macron is mounted on a rocking horse. Or we could be wringing out the tricolore. As the left and the right are twisted, the centre is being squeezed dry. In the same way, votes are being driven out from Mr Macron’s centrist coalition.
This is eye-catching, but it looks less like destroying Paris than pulling the wishbone of a chicken–which is all about claiming good fortune.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world
That is a lot to read into a news photo. We wondered whether a drawing might be more powerful.
The question that hangs over Labour is how radical it will be in pursuit of growth. It has run a maddeningly cautious campaign, choosing to reassure voters rather than seek a mandate for bold change. Having failed to set out a vision to steer by, Prime Minister Starmer could more easily be blown off course by events or sidetracked by growth-stifling left-wing preoccupations.
However, if Labour succeeds in overhauling the planning regime, strengthening ties with Europe, giving fiscal power to cities, focusing the Treasury on growth and rationalising the tax system, the picture will brighten and Britain will be better off. Sir Keir and his party have earned the chance to try.
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