The extraordinary story of how an outsider candidate - an unknown technocrat and economics minister on the fringes of French politics - made his way to the Elysee palace, with new material and expert analysis of recent events including the gilets jaunes protests. Two years after Emmanuel Macron came from nowhere to seize the French presidency, Sophie Pedder, The Economist's Paris bureau chief, tells the story of his remarkable rise and time in office so far. In this updated edition, published with a new foreword, Pedder revisits her analysis of Macron's troubles and triumphs in the light of the gilets jaunes protests. Eighteen months after he led his own audacious insurgency against France's established parties Macron would face another popular insurrection. This time, he was the target. In her vivid account, Pedder analyses the first real political crisis of Macron's tenure, how the movement emerged on roundabouts and in cyberspace, its impact on his plans to transform France, and the repercussions for representative democracy. On the eve of important European elections, and with nationalist and populist forces rising across the continent, she considers whether Macron can still hope to hold the centre ground, work with Germany to rebuild post-Brexit Europe, and defend the multilateral liberal order. Meticulously researched, enriched by interviews with the French president, and written in Pedder's gripping and immensely readable style, this is the essential, authoritative account for anyone wishing to understand Macron and the future of France in the world. Now updated with new material including interviews with Emmanuel Macron.

The extraordinary story of how an outsider candidate - an unknown technocrat and economics minister on the fringes of French politics - made his way to the Elysee palace, with new material and expert analysis of recent events including the gilets jaunes protests

About the Author
Sophie Pedder has been Paris Bureau Chief of The Economist since 2003. She has interviewed Emmanuel Macron on numerous occasions since 2012, and followed him closely during the 2017 election campaign, securing notebooks of first-hand material on which this book is based. An award-winning journalist, she appears regularly to comment on French politics on CNN, the BBC and other media.

Reviews
The seminal account of Macron's rise, as riveting as a thriller. -- Lauren Collins * staff writer at the New Yorker and author of When in French: Love in a Second Language *
An important and brilliant book, sparkling with insights into the elusive and highly original personality of Emmanuel Macron, and the scale of his ambition to transform France and re-launch Europe. -- Lord Peter Ricketts, former British Ambassador to France
An important book on Europe's most influential leader and whether liberalism has a future. -- Robert Peston, ITV Political Editor
[An] excellent and lavishly sourced account of Macron's "quest to reinvent a nation" ... an illuminating book about a highly unusual politician. * Financial Times *
Quick-paced, witty and elegantly written ... Pedder's book is a breath of fresh air for the calmness and intelligence with which she deciphers and dissects the man and the politician. * The Times *
Probably the foreign journalist who knows [Macron] best * Irish Times *
[An] impressive combination of reportage and analysis, enriched with tete-a-tete interviews ... fluently written and well-plotted * The Economist *
Having read Revolution Francaise I understand Macron much better now and the modernisation he is attempting in France. -- Lord Andrew Adonis
[An] excellent new biography -- Charles Grant, Director, Centre for European Reform
Sharp ... written with concise elegance * Sunday Times *
An insightful examination of the rise, vision, and potential impact of France's youngest president ... authoritative * Kirkus Reviews *
A superb book ... Sophie Pedder has a deep understanding of what drives France and the French -- Francois Heisbourg, Chairman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies council, Special Adviser at the Fondation pour la Recherche Strategique in Paris
First rate ... Revolution Francaise offers the best answer in English so far to two big questions: who is this man? And how will he change his country? ... This is a model biography by a writer who knows and loves France * New Statesman *



Book Information
ISBN 9781472966308
Author Sophie Pedder
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Bloomsbury Continuum
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 378g