Macron Struggles to Deliver His Vision for a Stronger Europe

  • French president to outline his priorities for EU on Thursday
  • He is failing to convince voters ahead of European elections
Emmanuel Macron in Paris on April 19.Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Emmanuel Macron wants to set the stage for more robust European defense and drive support for Kyiv, yet he faces a battle to get results or convince voters at home to back him.

The French president will outline his vision for Europe at Paris’s Sorbonne University on Thursday, echoing a landmark speech he gave there months into his first term in 2017. His calls then for a common European defense force, budget and doctrine now seem prescient in a world that has become more hostile, with war returning to European soil.