The first round of the French presidential elections leaves the country’s party system in tatters and voters divided along three poles. What will happen in the second round is now anyone’s guess.
The dynamics of the “strategic vote” in France have amplified the restructuring of the political field around three major poles: centrist, identitarian and far left.
While many progressive movements have organised online, conservatives dominate because of better organisation, capital, and social inequality. France’s presidential elections are a case in point.
Garret Martin, American University School of International Service
For the second time running, it is looking like the French presidential election will go to a runoff between centralist Emmanuel Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen.
There are 12 candidates in the first round of the campaign – two favourites, three outsiders and a host of people with no chance of making it to the second round.
Garret Martin, American University School of International Service
President Emmanuel Macron has presented himself as a defender of the liberal order against the rising tide of right-wing populism. But he can’t lead Europe while mass protests have France in crisis.
With some “Gilet jaune” protestors calling for the removal of Emmanuel Macron, the French constitution is being criticized anew for concentrating too much power in the hands of the president.
Bruno Tinel, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne dan Jean-Michel Servet, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)
Since his election, Emmanuel Macron has emerged as a man of the “liquid” society, where finance, labour, politics and people shift and flow. What matters is change, not the direction one is taking.
This week’s Newspoll, conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1655, is completely unchanged on voting intentions since last fortnight’s post-budget Newspoll. Labor leads 53-47, from primary votes…