Tag: François Dosse

During his first year in office, French President Emmanuel Macron outlined a series of proposals for reforming European institutions; now he is launching a campaign to shake up the European Parliament election in 2019. Though the official rollout has now been postponed, Macron’s latest project remains central to his presidency and to his conception of power. Macron’s “La Grande Marche pour l’Europe” will mimic the program that toppled France’s dominant political parties and transformed his La République En Marche ! Few are better acquainted with Macron’s thinking than French historian and philosopher François Dosse. Dosse recently published a book about Macron and Ricoeur titled Le Philosophe et le President. Similarly, Macron’s vision for Europe seems to reconcile the irreconcilable: his plan is both to preserve member states’ sovereignty and deepen EU integration. The second Ricoeurian concept underpinning Macron’s worldview is the idea of a European “refoundation.” Whereas the first wave of European integration was largely limited to economics, Macron now wants to focus on politics and culture, starting with the European Parliament election next year. To that end, he has considered creating a Europe-wide “En Marche !” movement that could nominate its own Spitzenkandidat to the European Commission presidency. But the creation of a European En Marche ! In his view, sovereignty in Europe can really be exercised only at the level of the EU.

Though the official rollout has now been postponed, Macron’s latest project remains central to his presidency and to his conception of power. Macron’s ‘La grande marche pour l’Europe’ will mimic the program that toppled France’s dominant political parties and transformed his La République En Marche ! Few are better acquainted with Macron’s thinking than French historian and philosopher François Dosse. Similarly, Macron’s vision for Europe seems to reconcile the irreconcilable: his plan is both to preserve member states’ sovereignty and deepen EU integration. Macron also hopes to reconcile opposite ideas with respect to the euro. The second Ricoeurian concept underpinning Macron’s worldview is the idea of a European ‘refoundation’. To that end, he has considered creating a Europe-wide ‘En Marche !’ movement that could nominate its own Spitzenkandidat to the European Commission presidency. Initially, the Macronistes had planned to recruit defectors from other party groups, and then ally with the left-leaning Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. But the creation of a European En Marche ! In his view, sovereignty in Europe can really be exercised only at the level of the EU.