![]() Many of those struggling economically say Macron is out of touch, and a common gibe labels him the “president of the rich.” Once ensconced in the Elysee Palace, he veered to the right, alienating supporters on the left, and failed to deliver the environmental program that activists had hoped for. But in some quarters, disillusionment has set in. Macron swept into office in 2017 promising a new kind of politics, appealing to voters on both sides of the political spectrum. Nonetheless, Le Pen’s first-round performance was seen as a wake-up call for the French political establishment. Since the initial vote this month, Macron has widened his lead, polling up to 12 percentage points ahead in some surveys. “Never, in the modern history of France, never has a candidate from the extreme right gotten so close to power,” said Vincent Martigny, a professor of political science at the University of Nice. With war singeing the European Union’s eastern edge, French voters will make a choice in a presidential election that will have an effect beyond the country’s borders. World & Nation France’s presidential election outcome will have international implications She and Macron were the two top vote-getters in the April 10 first-round vote, separated by fewer than 5 percentage points. The commentary did not mention either candidate by name but referred to oneĪs a “democratic” politician who supports a “powerful and autonomous European Union” and the other as an “extreme-right candidate who openly sides with those who attack our freedom and democracy.”Īnalysts say that simply by being a more viable candidate in Sunday’s rematch than she was five years ago, Le Pen has already achieved a significant victory. In a sign of their concern over what might happen in Sunday’s runoff, the leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal published a column Thursday in several European papers urging French voters to back Macron. She has backed off from her previous advocacy for quitting NATO but says she would withdraw France from the alliance’s integrated command structure, has been friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and argues for a “strategic rapprochement” between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia once the fighting in Ukraine ends. ![]() Although Le Pen has condemned Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, she opposes sanctions on Russian gas and oil, a direction in which the EU is moving.
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