Opinion

Emmanuel Macron has the right message but is the wrong messenger

In March, Emmanuel Macron’s official photographer posted arresting black-and-white photos of the French president pummeling a heavy bag, teeth bared, biceps swollen. The image Macron projected, of toughness and resolve, meshed with his hawkish determination to rally fractious Europeans against Russia’s blood-soaked war in Ukraine.

The photos themselves were the subject of debate — riveting to some, ridiculous to others. But there is no dismissing the gravity of the president’s analysis regarding Europe, reinforced with a forceful two-hour speech last month warning that the continent faces an existential threat arising from Moscow’s aggression, U.S. disengagement, and Europe’s own economic torpor and rising populist illiberalism.