Macron again
French President Emmanuel Macron was able to fend off the surging popularity of the far-right in his country, winning the presidential election against National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in a run-off.
Macron became the first French president in two decades to win re-election, but why he won, and how the run-off worked out, are still up for debate.
While run-offs occur by design in France, the fact that Le Pen — a xenophobe, Islamophobe, and anti-Semite with close ties to fascist movements across Europe — was able to garner over 40% of the vote in the second round makes us question where France is going. There is also the possibility that some Le Pen voters were actually casting anti-Macron votes. That does not speak much better for France, because it suggests almost half of all voters looked at Macron — a relatively centrist-liberal who — and decided that they would rather vote for a flaming racist.
Conversely, it is almost a certainty that a considerable number of votes for Macron were only cast because people did not want the bigot to win. Even the French president has endorsed this opinion, and several left-leaning candidates made sure not to directly endorse Macron after they were eliminated, but rather to oppose Le Pen. The 72% turnout was also the lowest for a French presidential election since 1969.
Concerningly, Macron’s victory speech also included promises to answer the “anger and disagreements” that led to the rising far-right vote. Policymaking in this direction would only play into Le Pen’s game. Many analysts have noted that while Le Pen talked a more ‘moderate’ game to make herself seem more electable, her party is still borderline fascist. Given this, supporting right-wing policies will not be enough to make Macron stronger — the National Front vote base will still want more — but it will weaken the French Republic. What Macron really needs to do is emphasise the French promise of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity and walk away from his previous attempts to appeal to the right with anti-Muslim and anti-African rhetoric and policies.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2022.
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