Will Macron be able to deliver?

At the time when this article was being written, we knew that most opinion polls were giving the frontrunner centrist Emmanuel Macron a 20-point lead over his opponent Marine Le Pen. We were perhaps puzzled by the announcement of the hard-leftist leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon and center-right candidate François Fillon - both defeated in the first presidential round on 23 April - that they would not vote for any candidate in the second round. We also knew that in spite of the strong support by Brussels and Berlin, a significant number of French voters were still skeptical of Macron's ability to lead the country out of its twin difficulties: A faltering economy and terrorism. Many may choose not to vote at all.

We also knew that for the first time in the history of the French Republic, the most likely candidate did not belong to an established party represented in the parliament. Macron, with his newly formed movement, En Marche!, remained vague about the details of his political program, focusing more on the negative points of his opponent. Yet if he becomes president, Macon will have to work with parliament to secure his reforms. And he will have to work hard to construct alliances for his pro-European ideas with a new Assembly of 577 members to be elected on June 11 and 18, in just over a month's time. 

And it is noteworthy that yesterday's elections took place while France is still under a state of emergency. More than 50,000 police secured the smooth running of the election. But it did take place under the shadow of a massive hacking attack against Emmanuel Macron, which bore close resemblance to a similar attack against Hillary Clinton during last year's U.S. presidential campaign.

A Macron victory, if it is so, will be a significant...