As fascism continues to spread across the West and mainstream politics move further to the right, France is in the midst of a hotly debated presidential election. After Brexit and Trump, the next problem is in the French elections. After the first round, fascist Marine Le Pen and the centrist former banker Emmanuel Macron will continue to a runoff election next week.
In the first round of the election, Macron won 24 percent of the vote, Le Pen won 21 percent, right wing Francois Fillon won 20 percent, and leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon won just under 20 percent. As no candidate won a majority, the top two advance to a runoff election.
Many across France, particularly students, voiced disdain for both candidates. A choice between an elitist with long standing ties to the establishment and banking, or an ultra right wing candidate who's party has ties to anti-semitism and nationalism. Does that sound familiar? It should. It was the same sorry choice Americans faced in November. However, France cannot have the same result. If they do, fascism will have made its grand return to the mainstream of Western politics and right now there seems no opposing force that could reverse that.
Looking at the candidates, Macron is a centrist who believes the cause of France's problems are not external, be it immigrants or the European Union, but, as he would put it, the unstable welfare state and huge bureaucracy of the French government. His victory would surely lead to austerity measures across the board, as well as further investment and integration into the EU.
Contrast that to Le Pen, his far right opponent who believes France is being sunk by the European Union and the huge number of migrants threatening the security of the country. She has said that if elected, she would seek to have a referendum on the EU, similar to Brexit. She has also said she would cut off immigration to France, blaming migrants for the increase in terrorism the country has seen over the past few years.
Similar to the presidential election here in the U.S., the French are faced with either a bad choice or a very bad choice. Current polls show Macron with a comfortable lead over Le Pen. Saying this with a bad taste in my mouth, hopefully those polls hold true in the election. France does not need a surprise like in our election. Brexit and Trump may seem bad, but they pale in comparison to what a Le Pen presidency could do to Europe.
