Europe's populist wave stalls as Macron storms into French runoff
Others are sceptical about whether Macron can convince the Germans to do a deal. Christian Odendahl of the Centre for European Reform points to a lack of "intellectual convergence" between Berlin and Paris on what Europe really needs. "In Berlin, there isn't a great sense of urgency. They see this as a marathon, not a sprint. There is a preference for incremental improvements in Europe rather than bold new projects," he said.