President Emmanuel Macron has suffered a bruising setback in France's politics but may yet stay out ahead in a three-way race as Europe's informal leader, not because of his own mandate but because of the weakness of his German and Italian rivals.
Nonetheless, just as he is having to learn new negotiating skills in Paris after a parliamentary election setback on Sunday, he may have to become more accommodating in Brussels and other European capitals, from his fiscal ambitions to his defense goals.
