Why You Should Care about the French Election (original) (raw)

Updated 9:05 a.m. April 24: Voters on Sunday chose Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron to advance to the final round of elections in France.

First, there was Brexit in the United Kingdom. Then, came the election of Donald Trump in November in the United States. And now, the political fate of France hangs in the balance as the nation's elections are set to begin. On Sunday, France will hold the first round of presidential elections before two successful candidates likely proceed to the final round on May 7.

The outcome could have global repercussions––more so than any recent French election.

Far-right candidate and former lawyer, Marine Le Pen, has drawn comparisons to Donald Trump. Le Pen is anti-globalization, anti-immigration, and anti-European Union. If she wins the election, she will insist upon “a return of full national sovereignty, including monetary independence, fiscal and financial autonomy,” The New York Times reported, citing Le Pen’s official platform.

This is worrying to many. Galvanized by Trump and Brexit, Le Pen is stoking a nationalist flame that is spreading throughout the globe. More than one in four French voters support Le Pen. Many of her supporters include those struggling to find work who have found solace in her promises of bringing more jobs to native French people. France has a 10 percent unemployment rate.

Le Pen is the leader of the National Front party and wants to drastically limit immigration, lower the retirement age, close “extremist” mosques, and make it more difficult for French workplaces to hire foreigners. Her views are extreme; she once compared Muslims praying in France to the German occupation. Le Pen is also known, in part, for her lineage. Her father is Jean-Marie Le Pen, who once denied acts that occurred during the Holocaust, which led many to despise him.

The sentiments of those who oppose Le Pen are vitriolic and sometimes violent. Last week, her Paris campaign headquarters were firebombed allegedly by an anonymous anti-xenophobia group. If she wins, it will put the state of the European Union, along with its Euro currency, in a precarious position. France was a founding member of the EU, and the country's potential exit — already being dubbed “Frexit” — has the ability to dismantle the entire union. This would have a massive global impact on trade relations, the economy at large, free travel, and more.

Many French people are skittish about the election results. Aurélia, a native Parisian who works in fashion, told Teen Vogue that “people are nervous and disgusted at the same time."

"They are disgusted because the level of Le Pen's campaign was really low," she said. "For the first time, a lot of people are thinking not to vote. This is very risky because Le Pen supporters are super motivated and they will all vote. The lower the participation is, the better it is for her. The only thing I'm sure of is that I don't want Marine Le Pen representing my country.”

Out of 11 total candidates, Le Pen is one of four leading in the polls, alongside Emmanuel Macron, François Fillon, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Macron and Le Pen are predicted to be the winners in the first round of the elections.

Macron is a 39-year-old centrist who started his own political party, En Marche! The party opposes the xenophobia that Le Pen’s party, National Front, promulgates. His supporters like him for his socially liberal views, openness to immigration, and pro-EU stance. He is a former investment banker who served as economy minister under the current president, François Hollande.

François Fillon is a member of Les Républicains, a center-right group. He wants to drastically cut France’s public sector (which employs more than 5 million people), remove the wealth tax, and, as reported by the BBC, require parents to agree to "a ‘parental responsibility contract,’ to tackle children's absenteeism or behavior ‘disrespectful of the values of the [French] republic.’ ”

While he was prime minister from 2007 to 2012, Fillon paid his wife with taxpayer dollars for a job she did not do. He was ahead in the polls until news of L’Affaire Fillon (nicknamed “Penelopegate”) broke in February.

Mélenchon represents the far left. His views on the economy make big banks nervous and his views on taxation make him something of a French Robin Hood. Mélenchon is popular among young voters and has been known to use "holograms" to appear in multiple places at once along the campaign trail (making him a presumed favorite among socialist French Trekkies). He has more than 15 years of political experience and is a member of the European Parliament.

French voters have the power to elect a person who, like Trump, espouses racism, xenophobia, and fear. Thus, it is vital to pay attention.

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