As was widely expected Macron suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Marie Le Pen yesterday.
Within just a two year period there has been a massive swing away from the centre to reveal the deep dissatisfaction with the status quo. Further reflected in the fact that the turnout (66.7 percent) was much higher than in 2022 (47.5 percent) and its obvious to see the impact this has had.
RN
Marine LePen
The National Rally/Le Pen-Republican/Éric Ciotti alliance collected 10.6 million votes; if we add the result of Éric Zemmour’s Reconquest, that’s nearly 10.9 million votes. In 2022, the RN and Reconquest total amounted to 5.2 million votes. Between 2022 and 2024, the far right therefore increased by 5.7 million votes.
NFP
Former Presiden Francois Hollande
The left also picked up votes increasing their vote to 9 million up from 5.8 million voters back in 2022. However, as indicated by their inclusion of Francois Hollande (previous President), they are still firmly attached to the discredited centre. The composition of this left wing is composed of discredited groups like the old Communist Party and the Greens. None of whom have a programme to instil young people with much hope for the future.
The NFP has played its role within the so-called “Republican Front against the far right”. However, arguably, by withdrawing candidates in some seats to allow Macronists to battle the RN has totally backfired and strengthened the party of LePen and Bardella who can call out election shenanigans to reinforce their anti-system image.
The victory for the far right is a victory for populism and demagogy.
There’s a lot of posturing in demagogy. It’s effective because it speaks to that irrational, emotional self. It’s much easier to sway someone with emotion than to convince someone with facts and evidence.
Macron’s posturing in relation to sending troops to fight Russia in Ukraine, however, has not gone down well. Russian sanctions have hit many European countries economies and France is no exception. So a part of the far rights surge in popularity is that it takes an anti-war stance.
Macron is also associated with the “globalists” and their climate change agendas which have sparked massive protests of farmers in France (as many other European countries as well).
This comprehension of Macron as one of the World Economic Forum boys is completely absent from lame street reporting.
Of course, there is anti-immigrant feeling. Although often present, the feelings are exasperated at a times of economic hardship and austerity and find themselves reflected at the ballot box.
As you can image the press headlines are full of dire warnings of ‘LePen at gates of power’. There is another round of voting with all its complexities and calls for tactical voting to keep the far right out. It will be to no avail the writing's on the wall.
As a person who veers left I’m not entirely sure what to feel about these movements. There’s been an undeniable move right. That’s taken part across the board. The current left are well to the right of the centre from 50 years ago. I also know this takes place with a system that finds they despise the far right, but they make good television.
They despise the far left even more. It has always posed a bigger threat to the status quo, so it has taken the biggest battering. The left has had its periods though – from 1917 through the growth of the Communist Party around the world until its demise, and then collapse in 1989. It would be a mistake though to conclude that the left will never rise again.
There is a see-saw to history. As the far right will continue to go from strength to strength they will have to prove themselves in government. They will disappoint. The people will seek elsewhere. The see-saw tips to the left. So I look at the move to the far right as opportunity and it is also a rejection of the status quo that I can sit well with, especially anti-war.
cartoonstock.com
I will say I’m not buying the scare mongering of the liberal Western media. How many times have I heard British people bemoan Trump and state they are fearful he will become a dictator. People are such suckers for the propaganda they see Hitler under every leaf.
British Reform leader Farage
Do you mean the progressive left? I heard the opposite: the center is much more left and that the left from 50 years ago would be considered far right by today's standards.
Is this to do with left and right being different in France than in the US?
Hi thanks for reading. I've given some thought to your comment. I speak from my experience as a European and of a certain age. The big difference is that the US does not have a party of labour with all the history that implies. What you have in the States is a two party system of big business. Differences between left and right are illusions. Keeping people locked in the centre supporting the status quo with a false dichotomy of right and left. The radical or as you say progressive left was at a high world wide during the sixties and seventies with the anti-Vietnam movement, civil rights campaigns, feminism and gay rights. These all left their cultural mark on society. On this cultural issue I see how society can be seen to have moved left. Today we have the adoption of identity politics as left wing cover. What does it mean to be far left? What does it mean to be far right?
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good... when people get abused by a certain party for so long it is nice to see people actually change sides. I admit I know very little about France's politics but I DO know that here in the USA people are so devoted to their party that there is almost nothing that can happen to sway them. "Blue no matter who" comes to mind and I know quite a few people that adhere to exactly this line of thinking.