In 2016, a junior minister in the government of France formed a new political party – En Marche! The party considers itself “radical centrist” and is drawing ideas from both the left and the right. The initial response from established politicians, journalists, and the other political parties was, not surprisingly, dismissal. The new party was written off as incapable of being a force in French politics. After all, France had a political party system that had lasted for decades. How could this new party shake up that entrenched system?
Yet, it did. Emmanuel Macron, the presidential candidate of En Marche!