The limits of Macron’s EU plan

Macron's European ambitions face hurdles [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. Louis XIV, the Sun King, famously said: “I am the state.” Looking at France today, Emmanuel Macron appears to embrace that sentiment. He’s an over-towering figure, full of ideas and prescriptions for how Europe should punch above its weight. But trying to define what exactly “Macronism” is has become a vexing question, one that will form the backdrop to the French president’s interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait to be broadcast today on Bloomberg Television at 7 p.m. Paris (1 p.m. New York). At 39, Macron became the youngest French head of state since Napoleon, carving a bold path to power by being aggressively centrist, [unapologetically pro-business]( and claiming the mantle of leadership in Europe in the post-Brexit era. He’s a man of contradictions — embracing state capitalism while also pursuing the kind of economic reforms that had Yellow Jacket protesters torching cars in Paris. He completely rewired French politics by making Socialists and Republicans obselete but has no clear successor, such is the strength and force of his personality. He wants to build his legacy but he first must inoculate France against Marine Le Pen, the far-right populist who with each election gets closer to gaining access to the Elysee Palace. Macron believes the European Union must become an economic and military power to withstand the might of the US and China — or face long-term decline. His vision to re-industrialize France and make it a financial hub needs a reality check. French energy giant TotalEnergies is considering moving its primary stock listing to New York partly because of the weight of ESG policies in Europe. France is home to the EU’s most valuable bank, BNP Paribas, and yet it remains a relative global minnow. At his “Choose France” summit, a flagship event the former investment banker put in place in 2018, [foreign executives]( will be able to enjoy the glories of France’s past at Versailles Palace that Louis XIV had built. But Macron still has work to do to get them to invest in the country’s future.  — [Flavia Krause-Jackson]( Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur on Jan. 25. Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images Global Must Reads Vladimir Putin’s surprise late-night shuffle of his defense and security team highlights his drive to mobilize Russia’s war economy for an intensified conflict in Ukraine. The president named his former economy aide and first deputy prime minister, Andrey Belousov, to be the new [defense minister](, replacing Sergei Shoigu, who’ll become secretary of Russia’s security council. Nikolai Patrushev, a longtime ally of Putin who had held that post, was dismissed and is due to take another, unspecified job. A billboard bearing the image of a Russian soldier in Moscow on April 28. Photographer: Contributor/Getty Images  As the White House becomes increasingly concerned about Israel’s plans for a ground offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, CIA Director William Burns is [quietly keeping Washington’s lines]( of communication open across the Middle East. A veteran diplomat and Arabic speaker, Burns has become President Joe Biden’s point man when it comes to balancing his carrot-and-stick approach to keeping the Israel-Hamas war from escalating. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist party won the Catalonia regional election, reinforcing his policy of granting separatists amnesty after they held an independence referendum ruled illegal. At the same time, the outcome [could complicate his ability to govern]( at the national level, where he relies on the two leading Catalan pro-independence parties to push through legislation. For the first time since the end of apartheid three decades ago, South Africa is heading into national elections in which an outright winner isn’t apparent. The ruling African National Congress is in jeopardy of losing its majority in the May 29 vote and may have to enlist the support of one or more rivals to continue governing Africa’s most industrialized economy. Read about [some of the key players]( in the contest. Former and current prisoners in the US state of Alabama are suing the governor, the attorney general, a slew of cities and companies including Hyundai supplier Ju-Young and franchisees of KFC, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s that they say conspired to [use them as forced labor](. The 800,000 incarcerated workers in the US do roughly $10 billion worth of work a year, more than $2 billion of it for clients outside the prison system, according to a 2022 study by the American Civil Liberties Union and the University of Chicago. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda won the first round of yesterday’s election, putting the outspoken critic of Putin closer [to securing a second term]( as head of state. The south of Brazil is preparing for new rains and colder temperatures that threaten to [deepen a crisis]( created by the historic floods that have deluged the region. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara today as the neighbors on NATO’s southeastern flank focus on [improving long-strained relations](. Washington Dispatch A bronze statue of the Arkansas civil rights activist Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was dedicated at the US Capitol last week, standing in Statuary Hall next to Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. Years after a movement to remove sculptures and other tributes to civil war Confederate leaders gathered strength in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, several remain at the Capitol. There’s a statue of Davis’s vice president, Alexander H. Stephens, and of Joseph Wheeler, a general who’s depicted in uniform with the letters “CSA,” or Confederate States of America, on his belt buckle. The statue of Bates, a journalist who advised the Black students who in 1957 desegregated Central High School and became known as the Little Rock Nine, replaced that of Uriah Rose, a founder of the American Bar Association who had served in Arkansas’s secessionist government. Bates became the third African American honored in Statuary Hall, after Rosa Parks and Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded what became Bethune-Cookman University in Florida. Under an 1864 law, each state can contribute two statues of citizens who were “illustrious for their historic renown or for distinguished civic or military service.” One thing to watch today: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York releases its survey of consumer inflation expectations, as rising prices remain a top concern for many Americans. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day The Washington-led rivalry with Beijing over cutting-edge technology is reaching a critical turning point that will shape the future of the global economy. The US and EU have funneled nearly $81 billion toward cranking out the next generation of semiconductors — [the first wave]( of close to $380 billion earmarked by governments worldwide for firms such as Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to boost production of more powerful microprocessors. And Finally Norwegian fossil-fuels giant Equinor has quietly picked up the crown that once belonged to Russia’s Gazprom as the leading provider of natural gas to Europe. Norway now supplies 30% of the region’s needs, and roughly two-thirds was marketed and sold by Equinor. The company’s new prominence [has raised questions]( about whether European leaders may again be putting their countries at risk by relying too heavily on a single supplier. Equinor’s natural gas facility in Karsto, Norway, in April 2023. Photographer: Carina Johansen/Bloomberg Thanks to the 46 people who answered the Friday quiz and congratulations to Eugene Zacharewicz, who was the first to name South Korea as the country whose president publicly apologized over his wife receiving a luxury handbag under questionable circumstances, citing her “unwise behavior.” More from Bloomberg - Check out our [Bloomberg Investigates]( film series about untold stories and unraveled mysteries - [Bloomberg Opinion]( for a roundup of our most vital opinions on business, politics, economics, tech and more - [Next Africa](, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed - [Economics Daily]( for what the changing landscape means for policy makers, investors and you - [Green Daily]( for the latest in climate news, zero-emission tech and green finance - Explore more newsletters at [Bloomberg.com](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? 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