These results expose the fragile security of Emmanuel Macron, who certainly won the presidential election with a majority of 58% but remains highly contested in the country, with a double opposition, on his left and on his right.
If Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s dream of being “elected Prime Minister” remains unrealized, he nevertheless seems to have won his bet: that of appearing as the main oppositional force to Emmanuel Macron.
A new film by Dinesh D’Souza exposes organized abuse of the mail-in ballot and early voting system in order to tip the election. However, this scenario remains hypothetical; to win the debate, D’Souza needs to address a list of weaknesses with his film.
Following these elections, the horizon of French political life appears very dark. The next deadline is in about a month and a half with the legislative elections. President Macron is almost certain to win a majority, if not an absolute majority. From then on, he will have no counter-power—for five long years.
“As long as our contemporaries have not been made to understand once again that without saints there are no heroes, we will be condemned to fall.”—Jacques de Guillebon
His underwhelming flop among the general electorate notwithstanding, the right-wing candidate has exposed a deep fracture within France’s Jewish community that may reappear in future races.
Marine Le Pen was playing a very long game in the debate, and immense pressure must have weighed on her shoulders. Not only did she have to wash away the affront from 2017, but she also had to remain focused on the one and only goal worth mentioning: to win the second round on Sunday, April 24th.
The head of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII), declared on Tuesday that, if the voters choose Ms. Le Pen to lead the country in Sunday’s runoff election, he will work to block the president’s
efforts to limit immigration, increase repatriations, and reduce social welfare benefits to non-contributing foreigners.
The release of the report in the press comes at an ideal time to destabilise the candidate, with some of the facts mentioned by the European Office dating back more than ten years.
Repositioning French political forces began as soon as the results were announced. Even if the headliner is the same as in 2017, the balance of power and the political situation have radically changed.
France’s entrenched political establishment has been accused of concealing a deadly anti-Semitic attack that saw a young, disabled man run over by a tram after having been beaten and chased by a gang of ‘youths’ in a Paris suburb.
The chants came after Zemmour blamed France’s dismal security situation—which in recent years has seen murders, rapes, and violence explode—on incumbent candidate President Macron’s careless migration policies.