Emmanuel Macron stumbled out of the gate in his quest to unify France behind his bid for the French presidency, with some critics accusing him of complacency and a lack of guile in the aftermath of his first-round success. After qualifying for the May 7 runoff alongside nationalist Marine Le Pen, the political rookie gave a 15-minute speech that some observers said would have been more suited to a full election win. The 39-year-old then took his staff to dinner at a left-bank brasserie. “Macron has already made two serious errors,” said Thomas Guenole, a professor of politics at the Sciences Po institute in Paris. “His speech was celebrating victory and then he could find nothing better to do than to celebrate with his troops. He needed to show himself as a statesman and instead he comes across as a child king.” In France, a president can set the tone for his term in office before it’s even started. Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 victory celebration at an upscale restaurant cemented his fla...
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