On May 6, 2017, the day Emmanuel Macron was elected President of France after voting on the platform “neither left nor right” and after defeating his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, the new president promised the citizens of France: the country He will never see an ultra-right candidate run in the second round of the presidential election.
“Our challenge is enormous,” Macron said as he took command. “In the next five years, my duty will be to allay fears, to revive French optimism … I will fight with all my might against the divisions that are weakening us. He promised the “unification and reconciliation” of the French for the “unity of citizens and country.” Now, almost five years later, France has woken up to the results of the first round of the presidential election and – once again – the prospect of a second round between Macron and Le Pen.
The current president (from La República en Marcha party, founded by Macron in 2016) received 27.6% of the vote on Sunday, followed by Le Pen (national group, former National Front) with 23.4%. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the left-wing France Insoumise party, came close – by 22% – but failed to advance to the second round. Behind him, Eric Zemour (from the Reconquista party), an openly racist candidate running on a platform based entirely on the “big replacement” theory, 7.1%.
Traditional French parties are on the verge of extinction: Valerie Pecres – from the Conservative Republicans – received only 4.8%, Janic Jadot – from the Greens – 4.6% and the Socialist candidate (and Mayor of Paris) Anna Hidalgo – only 1.8%. None of the three have reached the 5% threshold for full reimbursement of campaign expenses, which in fact threatens the future of their parties.
Still rough: if you add the results of Le Pen and Zemor, you will find that almost one in three of my fellow citizens who went to the polls chose to vote for the far right, although turnout was low (74% of the population). Turned out to be polling, compared to 79% in 2017). Macron made a lot of mistakes, but it really hurts. He failed to fulfill his first and most important obligation to the French, and now it is Grundhog’s day, with only less rubble and more ultra-right threats.
Prior to the first round, Macron acknowledged that he “could not stop” the rise of the far right. It would be more honest to admit that he did little to prevent this. Over the past five years, France has shifted sharply to the right, to the point that not only Zemur but also Pecres voted for ultra-right theories such as the “Great Replacement” conspiracy to argue that the white European population is changing. “Non-European” people. After that, he tried to distance himself from his original comments.
The media is also responsible because it allowed anti-Islamic rhetoric to spread in its broadcasters and aroused admiration for Zemor’s views, which unusually supported his candidacy. But instead of distancing himself from the far right, Macron danced dangerously in the water and took a tough stance on immigration: police destroying refugee tents in Calais; The echo of the language of the founder of the ultra-right group French Action in the National Assembly; In honor of his “great soldier,” Marshal Petten, a French leader in the 1940s, for collaborating with the Nazis; And giving interviews to ultra-right magazines.
During the campaign, Macron condemned Zemour’s positions, but last year Zemur revealed that the president had asked him to briefly explain what immigration measures he would like to take. In a televised confrontation with Le Pen in February 2021, Macron Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the candidate was “too soft on immigration.”
When Zemur was verbally abused on the street in 2020, Macron called him personally and expressed support. However, when far-right extremists threatened to kill left-wing politicians in 2021, including Melenchon, in a video calling for them to “overthrow the left,” the president remained silent. The government has failed to condemn the growing number of attacks by far-right groups in Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg and Nantes. How do they expect left-wing voters to be convinced that electing Macron on April 24 will help contain the ultra-right threat?
In practice, the president has spent five years maintaining the ultra-right as his only credible opponent by 2022, but one thing has changed since 2017: this time Le Pen has a real chance of winning. Currently polls show an extremely tense race, with 54% for Macron and 46% for Le Pen in the second round, which is much lower than in 2017, when Macron defeated him by 66% to 34%.
I lived in the UK during the campaign for a referendum on EU membership and now that I’m back in France, these polls remind me of the Brexit outcome. Le Pen’s victory should frighten anyone who cares about democracy and peace. Le Monde He warned that “planned changes to the constitution are aimed at establishing an authoritarian system” and that Le Pen had repeatedly expressed his “admiration” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a speech on Sunday evening acknowledging the defeat, Melenchon said France now had to “choose between two demons” and urged voters “not to give Le Pen one vote”. One of these two is definitely more evil than the other, but that does not mean the choice is painful for the French left. Many feel betrayed after Macron’s right-wing and liberal reforms, which widened the gap between rich and poor, gave more power to the police (who used violence against protesters during the vest crisis), and took no effective action to stop it. Exhaust.
Macron now has two weeks to change course and show leftists that he cares about climate and social justice. For example, he could make a commitment to implement the 100 green measures he wanted to offer French citizens before virtually canceling all of them in 2021. He could have stepped back on a pension reform that many hated. It can announce a real plan to save public hospitals and educational centers that are completely inadequate. It will “gather and reconcile” far more voters than the struggle for power with the far right will ever be. It may be too late, but the attempt is definitely worth it.
Pauline Bock is a French journalist in Paris. Covers media and policies for an independent website Taking photos.
Translated by Maria Torren Tilak.
Source: El Diario
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
