The 2017 French Presidential Elections: A Political Reformation? by Jocelyn Evans, and Gilles Ivaldi (review)

French president Emmanuel Macron advanced to the second round of the presidential elections in spring 2017 by a slim margin but then easily defeated Marine Le Pen to become the Fifth Republic's eighth and youngest ever president. He went on to win an absolute majority in the National Assembly in the legislative elections that followed. This was one of the "biggest disruptions to the French political system under the Fifth Republic" (321), and the book under review builds upon an impressive array of statistical evidence measuring everything from public opinion to actual results. Macron's victory was not so much a landslide proper as the result of unforeseen circumstances: François Fillon edged out Alain Juppé of the LR, the newly minted neo-Gaullists of the erstwhile UMP, and was widely expected to be swept into office after overcoming Le Pen. However, his campaign was soon derailed by scandal. At the same time, there was the meteoric rise of Macron and his new party, the LREM. On the left, Mélenchon's newly created La France Insoumise (LFI) stirred things up amid the sudden collapse of the PS. The only constant was the seemingly inexorable rise of the FN. Not surprisingly, Le Pen fille made it to the second round but was soundly defeated and then lost big in the legislative elections. In the final analysis, no fewer than four evenly matched candidates vied for a place in the second round, and three of them were anti-establishment, which seemed only to confirm voters' disgust with la politique bloquée, the idea that two blocs—left and right, equally incompetent in government—merely alternated. Chapters 2 and 3 trace previous presidential elections and primaries in France. Chapter 4 studies how Hollande's failed presidency facilitated the rise of Macron, Mélenchon, and Le Pen. Macron's social-liberal centrism attracted the most support, garnering endorsements across the political spectrum. The FN meanwhile embarked upon a path of de-demonization, but this was not enough to stave off the inevitable front républicain, whereas the LFI drew support from disenchanted leftist voters with no other place to go. Chapter 5 studies campaign events that shaped the election; Chapter 6 looks at the uncertainty of polling, and Chapter 7 focuses on issues shaping the first round: unemployment, social welfare, terrorism and immigration, the EU and globalization. Chapter 8 looks at the legislative elections that followed and compares the new system of aligning presidential and legislative elections with the old system that had produced several cohabitations. Whether or not Macron changes France for the long term is anybody's guess. What kind of mandate does he have with 24.01% in the first round? Moreover, abstention in the second round reached 25.44%, not counting 11.52% blank or spoiled ballots (3). France's Jupiterian president has his work cut out for him. A major test came in spring 2018 with the challenge of labor law reform, leading to widespread strikes by trade unions disrupting travel by rail and air for months on end.