CENTRIST candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right populist Marine Le Pen have advanced to the French presidential run-off vote, marking a dramatic shift in the country’s political system.
For the first time in modern French history, no mainstream party candidate will advance to the final vote, and a showdown is now set over France’s participation in the European Union.
Macron’s optimistic vision of a tolerant France with open borders and Le Pen’s darker, inward-looking platform calling for closed borders, tougher security, less immigration and dropping the shared euro currency to return to the franc will go head-to-head.
After the results became clear French politicians on the left and right immediately urged voters to block Le Pen’s path to power in the May 7 vote, saying her virulently nationalist anti-EU and anti-immigration politics would spell disaster for France.
Polls putting the two head-to-head in a run-off have consistently forecast a comfortable win for Macron.
A 39-year-old investment banker, he made the run-off on the back of a grassroots start-up campaign without the backing of a major political party.
Supporters of both candidates erupted into wild cheers at their campaign headquarters when the results of yesterday’s ballot emerged.
“We will win!” Le Pen supporters chanted in Henin-Beaumont. They burst into a rendition of the French national anthem, and waved French flags and blue flags with “Marine President” inscribed on them.
But in Paris, protesters angry that Le Pen has advanced into the final vote scuffled with police.
Crowds of young people, some from anarchist and anti-fascist groups, gathered on the Place de la Bastille in eastern Paris as results were coming in from the first round vote.
Police fired tear gas to disperse an increasingly rowdy crowd and riot police surrounded the area.
The absence in the final vote of candidates from either the mainstream left Socialists or the right-wing Republicans party – the two main groups that have governed post-war France – shows a seismic shift in the nation’s political landscape, after an unpredictable and tense campaign.
The vote took place amid heightened security in the first election under France’s state of emergency, which has been in place since the gun and bomb attacks in Paris in 2015.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel