Photo via Flickr user fschnell
It's a macaron…It's a macaroon…It's the president-elect of a sovereign nation?!Emmanuel Macron is now officially the President-elect of France, but just because the pro-EU centrist won by a 32-percentage-point margin doesn't mean that Americans are able to distinguish between the former investment banker's last name and some fancy-sounding French confections.
Since Macron's substantial victory this past Sunday, the Twittersphere has been desperately struggling to tell the difference between Macron, the meringue-based confections known as macarons, and the style of coconut cookie commonly known as the macaroon.
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Interestingly, Macron's wife is from a family that owns a chocolatier most famous for their Macrons d'Amiens. In a 2014 article published by Le Parisien, an Amiens local told the paper, "We already had the macaroon from Amiens. Now we also have the Macron d'Amiens!"
French macarons gained a newfound surge in popularity in the US just a few years ago, and by 2014 were being dubbed the "new cupcake." Perhaps the macron d'Amiens—one of several regional variations on the macaron—will now take off here, thanks to the new French president. Like him, it is a fairly unassuming looking thing; it looks like a biscuit and is made from almond paste, fruit, and honey.
Hope of reform in France, unity for the European Union… or a biscuit? Thanks to the pronunciation of that confounding French "r," we're all in for some confusion for several years to come.