Macron proposes ‘radically new path’ for France in Europe that has ‘lost its way’

French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was ready to embark on a “radically new path” after presidential and parliamentary elections swept him and his new centrist party into power.

“Until now, we were on the wrong track,” Macron said in an address to both houses of the French parliament. “We preferred rules to initiative.”

Macron called for a “new generation of leaders” to revive the European Union, saying the bloc had somehow lost its way.

“The building of Europe has been weakened by the spread of bureaucracy and by the growing scepticism that comes from that,” he said. “The last 10 years have been cruel for Europe. We have managed crises but we have lost our way.”

He announced Europe-wide public events planned for later this year to try to reinvigorate the post-Brexit EU. He also said he would end France’s state of emergency, which has been in place since the attacks on Paris by extremists in 2015.