Revolution

It was a French election the world watched with anxiety in 2017. There was a wave of populism, fierce nationalism and anti-immigration angst sweeping across Europe and America – from Britain’s unanimous vote to exit the European Union to the divisive election of Donald Trump in the US. Many feared that France too would concede to the aggressive right-wing phenomenon by electing Marine Le Pen, the leader of a far-right party that had for long been on the fringes of French politics. And so the victory of Emmanuel Macron – investment banker-turned-politician who had never held elected office before – was celebrated with a sense of relief. His message of openness, optimism, reform and hope had as much resonance in India as the rest of the world. The Guardian called his win an ‘epochal political upheaval’ not witnessed since the French Revolution of 1789. In Revolution, Emmanuel Macron, the youngest president in the history of France, reveals his personal history and his inspirations, and discusses his vision of France and its future in a new world that is undergoing a ‘great transformation’. This is a remarkable book that seeks to lay the foundations for a new society – a compelling testimony and statement of values by an important global political leader who has become the flag-bearer for a new kind of politics – evocative in its scope, ambition and vision of Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope.