By+Sara+Miller+Llana

The love story of Emmanuel Macron and his wife， who is 24 years his senior， has long generated gossip. Against all odds， though， Macron proved the world that he is such a person who would live unconstrained by convention， who would show a willingness and even a need to be different and undaunted—ultimately poising him to win the French presidency.1

In a country deeply attached to pomp and political tradition， he launched an upstart centrist party a year ago， claiming allegiance to neither the left nor right.2 Aged 39 and virtually3 unknown the last time the French elected a president， Macron is now the youngest leader in modern French history. He soundly beat Marine Le Pen for the French presidency with 65.8 percent of the second round vote， despite his minimal political experience.4

Mr. Macron promises to shake up5 a country desperately in need of it. But can a man， who has been buoyed as much by luck as intellect and savvy， have the fortitude to bring France forward with the tough reforms it needs？6

Hope for France？

Looking back through his life， many say hes been willing to fight against established norms7 since age five. “He is sort of the perfect product of what we call the ‘French system， ” says Anne Fulda， a French journalist who authored the recent biography， Emmanuel Macron： a Young Man So Perfect. “But in politics he dared to do this very crazy thing， deciding to run for president when nobody knows you… Its a way to act against the system.”

On May 1， Macron and Le Pen led huge rallies8 around Paris. In the suburb of Villepinte， Le Pen， the anti-immigrant， anti-EU candidate of the National Front， warned supporters that Macron would put globalism ahead of French interests.9 “On May 7， I ask you all to stand tall against finance， arrogance， and the rain of money，”10 she told the crowd.

Her message has drawn not just the far-right fringe but the so-called “left behind，” and has resonated in a deeply pessimistic country where the sitting president is the most unpopular in history.11 A 2016 Ipsos12 global poll showed the French the gloomiest of all countries surveyed， with 88 percent of respondents saying the country was headed in the “wrong direction.”

Macron forged ahead with a message of renewal， promising to upend the current economic paralysis and help the French get beyond the fear of labor reform， which he says will boost everybody.13 “The French have hope and optimism， thats why they put us in the lead，”he said at his rally， referring to his first-round victory.“The second thing， and its just as important， is that the French are angry，” adding， “we need to hear them as well.”

“Talented， and lucky”

Macron was the economic minister under President Fran？ois Hollande when he left to start his own movement “En Marche.”14 Alain Minc， a business consultant and Macrons mentor， says when he first met Macron 15 years ago and asked him what he wanted to do， Macron told him he wanted to be president of France.

But last year when Macron shared with Mr. Minc his plans to run for president now， Minc says he urged Macron to hold off until 2022. “I told him not to go too quickly，” Minc says. “His answer was fascinating. He said， ‘You are describing the world of yesterday. Now it doesnt work that way， and he was right. He understood the political world is moving very quickly.”

Macron studied at the elite Ecole National dAdministration （ENA）15. He later worked at the finance ministry before leaving for Rothschild Bank16.He returned to government in 2012 as an adviser to President Hollande， and was later tapped17 as economy minister. He resigned last summer and officially launched his campaign in November—an audacious gamble that succeeded in part because of the implosion of the mainstream parties in the race.18

“I never met someone so lucky，” Minc says. “But he was talented， and lucky. Thats exactly what Napoleon19 requested from his generals： talent and luck.”

Macron grew up comfortably in the provincial city of Amiens，20 the son of two doctors. He says in his book Revolution that he lived his childhood a bit in “another world，” largely “through texts and words，” which his grandmother helped foster. For years he aspired to be a novelist. He was the perfect child： a prize-winning pianist， at the top of his class. He also loved drama， which is how he met his future wife Brigitte Trogneux21.

A pessimistic electorate22

Macrons critics say he is short on substance and purposely vague about his centrist platforms.23“There is really a possibility that if Macron is elected and doesnt really bring something new， something strong especially with regard to the economy but also with the way the political system works， we certainly will have a very difficult time，” a critic says.24 “If he only appeals to start-uppers，25 young educated people， winners of globalization， those in the professions and so on， he will not remain for five years.”

An exchange that went viral last year already shows the challenges hell face convincing the working class.26 In small-town France， the fluent English speaker who advocates for more French entrepreneurism was confronted by a T-shirt clad protester goading him about his fancy suits.27 “The best way to buy yourself a suit is to work，” Macron shot back28—a comment which critics say showed how disconnected he is from the life of ordinary French.

Macron seems at pains to emphasize that he is an outsider who was not born with a silver spoon.29 “My grandparents were a teacher， railway worker， social worker， and bridges and roadways engineer，” he writes in Revolution. “All came from modest30 backgrounds.”

Kind or hard？

The question of likeability also hangs over Macron， despite a dazzling smile and piercing gaze that makes individuals feel on the campaign trail that hes speaking directly to them.31 A schoolmate from ENA told Fulda that he wasnt always natural. “He was pleasant， smiling， and shaking hands with everyone， but there was something fake， in fact，” Fulda says.“His wife says he doesnt need anyone， and that no one can come into his perimeter32.”

And yet， almost paradoxically， Fulda sees a strong desire to be liked—what she considers his biggest liability as president.33 “Perhaps its his strong desire to be always loved，” she says. “If you want to please everyone you cannot do a lot of reforms.”

Minc disagrees. “He looks kind， he smiles，” he says. But “he will be brutal， cynical， not a mild king，34 but a strong one.” He says Macron is like a cat. “You throw him through the window and at the end he falls on his feet35.”

1. 然而，马克龙排除万难，向世界证明了：他不受社会习俗的约束，他愿意甚至可以说是需要成为一个与众不同、毫无畏惧的人——这为他最终赢得法国总统大选铺平了道路。against all odds： 战胜种种困难，尽管有许多困难；unconstrained： 不受约束的；convention：社会习俗，惯例；undaunted： 勇敢的，無畏的；poise： 使做好准备。

2. attached to： 依恋，非常喜欢；pomp： 浮华，排场；upstart： 暴发的，迅速成功的人（或团体）；centrist：（政治上）中间路线的，温和的；allegiance： 拥护，忠诚。

3. virtually： 实质上，几乎。

4. soundly： 彻底地；Marine Le Pen： 玛丽娜·勒庞（1968— ），法国极右翼政党国民阵线领导人，是前国民阵线主席让·玛丽·勒庞之女，曾参选2012年和2017年法国总统；second round vote：法国宪法规定，在总统选举中，如果第一轮选举时没有候选人赢得绝大多数选票，就要进行第二轮选举，对第一轮选举中得票最多的两位候选人进行再次投票；minimal： 最低的，最小限度的。

5. shake up： 使？？振作。

6. buoy： 支持，鼓励；savvy： 智慧，精明；fortitude： 坚韧不拔，坚毅。

7. norm： 标准，规范。

8. rally： 集会。

9. Villepinte： 维勒班特，位于巴黎东北部市郊；National Front： 国民阵线，法国的一个极右民粹主义政党，由让·玛丽·勒庞于1972年成立，代表极端民族主义思潮，强调“要把法国从欧洲控制和世界主义中拯救出来”，玛丽娜·勒庞接任后，其路线略作转移，以反移民、反欧盟为基调。

10. tall： 昂首挺胸地，不低三下四地；arrogance：傲慢，妄自尊大。

11. 因法国现任总统被评为历史上最不受欢迎的总统，她的这些话不仅吸引了极右翼人士，也吸引了所谓“被遗弃”人士的注意，并在这个沉浸于极度悲观主义情绪的国家里引起了共鸣。far-right： 极右派的，极端保守主义的；fringe： 极端分子，偏激的人；left behind：“被遗弃”人士，指在经济萧条时受到极大冲击的人；……