Emmanuel Macron is a "war leader", according to a policeman who commanded operations against the Bataclan terrorists and is now preparing to do battle as a parliamentary candidate for the new French President's party.
Jean-Michel Fauvergue, an ex-paratrooper and martial arts expert who went into the Bataclan ahead of his officers to end the Isis massacre in 2015, is standing in a constituency in the eastern Paris suburbs. He was among hundreds of the party's candidates, half of whom are political novices, who attended a seminar on the art of campaigning in a museum near the Eiffel Tower.
Macron, who was inaugurated president last night, believes his presidential victory a week ago proves that candidates who, like him, have never before run for office, can win in the parliamentary elections next month. "He's a very good general and it's important to have a general," Fauvergue, 60, said. "I often describe him as a war leader because he's been able to create a whole political movement behind him in just a year, and because he's put together a political programme that takes into account all the problems facing French society."
Macron was due to take over the reins from outgoing President Francois Hollande, in a ceremony at the Elysee Palace. After holding private talks, Hollande was to leave the Elysee Palace and Macron sworn in.
For Fauvergue, who advised Macron on counter-terrorism policies, the leader's personality is a crucial element. "We're emotional in the police and we need a leader. We can go to the ends of the Earth with good leaders."
