Emmanuel Macron may be sure of becoming the next President of France, but he is still a long way from being able to implement his plan to transform France from a statist, rigid, and sputtering economy into a Scandinavian-style powerhouse, in which populists return to the margins of political life.

What stands in his way is France’s National Assembly, which is to be elected in June. If a coalition of parties opposed to his En Marche! movement were to win and appoint a prime minister, Macron would face a period of what we French call cohabitation. Macron would find himself in virtually a titular role, with a hostile prime minister holding most executive powers.