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WTHE IRISH TIMES e irishtimes.comekend R eview Medical error Nature &Outdoors Apatient and her doctors Avisit to Lough Ree, in search discuss the misdiagnosis of the elusive curlew. Saturday,April21st,2018 EditorConorGoodman Phone01-6 758000 emailweekend@ irishtimes.com of her cancer. Page 3 Page 7 the Gérard Philippe of the 21stcentury. It In his first year as French president, was difficult for otherstoact in the same play with him. In the same way, it’s difficult Emmanuel Macron has overseen a forhis cabinet ministers now.” Defernand wasn’taware of the relation- growing economy, has become de shipatthe time, though he knewMacron went often to Auzière’shouse. “I assumed facto leader of Europe, and has even therewasaflirtbetweenhimandherdaugh- ter Laurence,” he says. won the respect of Donald Trump. The scandalofamarriedteacher with three children havinganaffair with astu- dentnearly 25 years her junior has been But many in France remain transformedinto romantic legend. Every- one wouldrather forget the trauma. unimpressed by the man they “Jesuitsneverpried into people’sprivate lives. There wasnomorality investigation,” see as a‘president for the rich’ Defernand says. “There were unmarried teachers livingtogetheratthe time. Iwas more worriedabout students taking drugs.” The fact thatBrigittecontinued to teach at La Pro for years after her lover’s depar- ture,and then transferred to LycéeStLouis de Gonzague when they began to live to- gether later in Paris, is further evidence of tolerance, Defernand says. Atragic love story, known to most LE BIG French people, occurred aquarter-century earlierand helped pave the way for Macron and Auzière. Schoolteacher Gabrielle Russier (32) had an affair withalycée studenthalf her age, Christian Rossi, in Marseille. The youth’s parents filedacomplaint against the teacherand had their son placed in a MAC mental hospital. Russierwas given asus- pended prison sentence and tookher own life. The story became the subject of books, filmsand songs. Asked about it at apress conference,formerpresidentGeorgesPom- pidou famously quoted apoem by Paul El- uard that was sympathetic to womenac- cused of having slept withGerman soldiers during thewar. The historian Jean-François Sirinelli comparesthe Russier and Macron stories in his book L es Révolutions franç ais- es,toshow how much France evolved in a single generation. “Gabrielle Russiertakes her own lifein196 9.Emmanuel Macron and his teacher start an affair in the 1990s, and in May 2017, Brigitte Macron becomes cline, and the persuasive Macron is turning first lady of France.” Franceintotheworld’sgreatestsoftpower. There is, of course,discontent.It wouldn’t be Franceifthere wasn’t. This week Macron also confronted striking rail- way workers in the Vosges, telling them to “stoptaking people hostage.”The country is struggling through arolling strike over L ara Marlowe the reform of the SNCF railway company. inAmiensandParis AnddespiteMacron’sbesteffortstoreas- Atragic love story, known sure them, many ins France uspecttheir young president is out to destroy the famil- to most French people, resident Emmanuel Macron likes iar but dysfunctional “French social mod- occurred aq uarter-century to convincepeople.Inmanner and el”. In their eyes, Macron is pushing France earlier and helped pave the method, he is unlike his predeces- into the chasm of savage, race-to-the bot- ‘‘ Psors. Nicolas Sarkozycajoled and tom capitalism. way for Macron and bullied.FrançoisHollandejustgaveup.Ma- So what do they make of himinhis home Auz iè re cronfixes interlocutorswithhis intense town? The I rish Times travelled there to bluestareand builds aCartesianargument. find out. If that doesn’t work, he starts over, patient- Macron’s parents learned of the affair by ly,but with determination. chance. “My wife was much more upset Thepastweekhastestedtheyoungpresi- J esuitschool than Iwas,” ProfMacron says. “It may dent’s powers of persuasion. Early in the Macron was born in Amiens, the capital of sound macho, but Ithought he’dget overit. hours of April 14th, Macron used his consti- Picardy, 40 years ago and lived here until He didn’t ...Ithought it was alittle early. It tutional power as commander in chief for just before his 17thbirthday.From age 11 to wasn’t the way Ienvisionedlife, but it the first time, joining the US and Britain in 16 ,hestudied at the Jesuit school La Provi- wasn’t my life. Iraised my children to be launching cruisemissilesagainst three dence. freeand independent.” chemical weapons installations in Syria. Builtinthegracelessconcretestyle ofthe TheMacronsdidn’tconsiderfilingcharg- The goal,Macronsaid later, was to con- 1950s, “La Pro” is an elementary, second- es against Brigitte Auzière, but they asked vince Bashar al Assad and Vladimir Putin ary and technical school for 2,000 pupils, to meet her. “I was requisitioned to impose thattheinternationalcommunitywasmore spreadover several acres.Aside from occa- authority,” ProfMacron laughs. “I toldher, than a“nice” and “weak” body they could sionalcrucifixes, calendars of Pope Francis ‘He’s aminor. Iwanthim to complete his push around. andportraitsofStIgnatiusofLoyola,there- studies.After that, he’sfree to do what he In afurther exercise in persuasion, Ma- ligious footprintislight. The teachersare wants.’” cron volunteered for acombative, 2½ hour lay people. The priest visits only once a The president’s parents have been hurt live television interview on Sunday night, week now. by press reports that they sent their sonto duringwhich he made the surprisingclaim Not asingle plaque or photograph re- Paris to get him away from Auzière.“He that, “Ten days ago, President Trump said cordsthat the president and first lady of was going to go to Henri IV anyway. It was the US would pullout of Syria. We con- France passed through thesecorridors.Yet planned,” ProfMacron says, nonetheless vincedhim it was necessary to stayfor the thisiswhereMacronaskedtobebaptisedat admitting that perhaps Emmanuel “went a duration.” the age of 12, and where, at 15, he fell in love little early”. The White House later issued astate- with his future wife, aFrenchand drama At La Pro, Iask aclassof14-15 year-olds, ment saying Trump’s view had not teachercalled Brigitte Trogneux Auzière. Macron’s age when he met Brigitte, if they changed, and the French president made Macronhas alwaysbeen drawn to older could fallin lovewithateacher.The teenag- an embarrassing climbdown on Monday, people.His maternal grandmother,Ger- ers laughand say yes. “If it happened to claiming he “neversaid” the US or France maine “Manette” Nogues, diedinhis arms someoneourage,itwouldshockme,”saysa would remain militarily engaged in Syria five yearsago, at the age of 97. The Protes- studentcalledGrégoire. “But now that he’s for the long term. tant humanist philosopher Paul Ricoeur an adult,itdoesn’t bother me.” PerhapsMacron,whosenicknameis“Ju- was aspiritual father to him;the progres- The studentssay it’s “cool” that Macron piter”, is threatened by hubris, the sin of sive socialist millionaireHenryHermand is president.“He was elected because there pridethat afflicted Greekgods. his politicalmentor.“He’s attracted by was Marine Le Pen,”pipes in Ayoub, of The rest of the week was one long at- knowledge,bypeople who have experi- north African origin. Perhaps parroting tempttoconvince Europeans and the ence,” his neurologistfather, Jean-Michel their parents’opinions, the youths object to French of the rightness of hispositions.Ma- (6 7),says over lunch in Amiens. rising taxesand praise the appointmentof cron–who has become the de facto leader cabinet ministers who are not professional of Europe –receivedthe heads of the three politicians.For the future, they predict fly- Baltic stateswho have teamed up with five ‘Moremature’ ing cars and tell me France will never know othernorthern EU countries, including the At La Pro and subsequently at Henri IV, full employment. Netherlands and Ireland,tothwart his ef- France’s leading lycée and prep school in On ascale of one to 10, they give the fortstofurther integrate the euro zone. Paris, Macron often stayed after class to young president an approval rating of sev- Then, before amore sympathetic audi- talk to teachers. en. “He has to prove himself,” one explains. enceatthe EU parliamentinStrasbourg, Marc Defernand (78) taught Macron his- LikeFrance,Macron’s successors at La Pro Macronpleaded with proponents of liberal tory and geographyhere, and was principal are waiting to see. democracytowakeupandopposethepopu- of Macron’s section. “He was more mature list authoritarians who deny European val- than otherstudents,” says Defernand. “He ues.Macronthen travelled to Berlininyet always asked alot of questions.Sometimes B loodlines another effort to enlist German chancellor he wouldpick up aconversation we’d start- The Amienois may seem blasé about their Angela Merkel’s supportfor his European ed eight daysearlier, exactly where we’d president,but his father attributes this atti- reform agenda. left off.” tudetothe“taciturn,reserved”characterof On Monday, Macronwill go to Washing- In the autumn of 2016 , Defernand Picard people. The region particularly suf- ton for athree-day state visit, the first of queuedinalocal bookshop to ask Macron feredinbothworldwars,hasamiserablecli- Trump’spresidential term.Although the to sign his autobiographical manifesto, mate and has been decimated by de-indus- two men have clashed on climate change, Révolution.The retirededucator is moved, tralisation. the Iran nuclear accord, trade protection- recallingwhat