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Sports

The New Prime Minister of France Likes to Box

Through practice, fighters develop virtues that carry into public life.
Photo via lebannerofficial.com

On the heels of defeating a far-right nationalist/bigot during a runoff earlier this month, yesterday centrist French president Emmanuel Macron appointed Édouard Philippe, a center-right member of the conservative Les Républicains party, as his prime minister. In France, the president serves as head of state and steers the country's foreign policy while the prime minster serves as head of government and handles domestic matters, and the appointment is part of Macron's effort to establish a majority in the country's 577-seat parliament after elections in June, peel off Philippe's conservative colleagues and further splinter France's political right, and lend momentum to a business-friendly agenda.

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Philippe is a renaissance man: a lawyer by training, the former mayor the Normandy port city of Le Havre, a former member of parliament, author of two novels of political fiction, and—the reason we're talking about him here—a recreational boxer. British tabloids claim he trains three times a week. Here's a picture of Philippe squaring up alongside K-1 kickboxing legend and Le Havre native Jérôme Le Banner. (Big up to Reddit MMA for finding it first.)

The natural and narrow question is what effect having a pair of martial artists—Macron used to practice savate at the helm means for the legalization of mixed martial arts in one of the most populous and stubborn holdouts in the developed world. The legalization of MMA in France has been held hostage by the country's judo federation, even though fighters are obviously embracing mixed-style fighting—UFC heavyweight upstart Francis Ngannou, a Cameroonian émigré who lived in France before relocating to Las Vegas this month, is just the latest. It's hard to tell if new leadership means anything. But as we wake up to more Twitter vomit from the Oval Office from a president who derives his delusions of masculinity through paid proximity to tough guys, defends his right to spill secrets to foreign adversaries, and keeps tying his underlings in knots to find the right kinds of lies to justify his impulses, little things like finding out the new French prime minister is a boxer offer a few rays of sunshine.

We fetishize part-time pugilists in the West across a political spectrum—Reid, McCain, Trudeau—because fighting symbolizes something that playing pick-up basketball or jogging or eating overcooked steak with ketchup doesn't. The courage to walk away with a headache and a bloody nose isn't really the price of entry, but it's not far off. Through practice, fighters develop virtues that carry into public life; especially for part-timers, fighting is an equalizer. It teaches you how great you aren't, how little privilege counts, the value of outside perspective, and the necessity of discipline. Act impulsively and thoughtlessly, and you'll hear your jaw click for a week.