Bonjour et bienvenue to the Paris Edition. I’m Paris Bureau Chief Alan Katz. If you haven’t yet, subscribe now to the Paris Edition newsletter.

There’s a French expression that says: “pourquoi faire simple quand on peut faire compliqué,” an ironic phrase about the tendency of many in the country to eschew the easy solution and search out more complex paths. President Emmanuel Macron, for one, has often been charged with being overly complicated in the way he presents ideas or proposals.