Macron Plays Last Card to Save the ‘Revolution’

After seven excruciating weeks, Emmanuel Macron has played his last zugzwang — an unwinnable and unavoidable chess move. Hemmed in by a hung parliament, extreme politics and jittery financial markets, he’s chosen 73-year-old Michel Barnier as surprise candidate to form the next government. It’s a shrewd play, but deep-seated voter frustrations and a fragile economy make this Macron’s last chance to save his legacy.

Choosing former Brexit czar Barnier for prime minister is a calculated risk. Picking a center-right politician hostile to immigration after July’s election that saw an alliance of left-wing parties come top will fuel the sense of betrayal among voters who have in the past held their nose and supported Macron to block the far-right from power. If anything, it’s Marine Le Pen who will feel emboldened: Her own group’s 143 seats will be crucial to helping Barnier’s government survive future confidence votes in France’s divided 577-seat parliament.