Macron’s Drive for a Strong EU Faces Hurdles

French President Emmanuel Macron greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Paris on May 14, 2023.
Photographer: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg

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By Flavia Jackson

May 13, 2024 at 10:00 AM UTC

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Louis XIV, the Sun King, famously said: “I am the state.” Looking at France today, Emmanuel Macron appears to embrace that sentiment. He’s an over-towering figure, full of ideas and prescriptions for how Europe should punch above its weight.