(Crédit photo : Eric FEFERBERG / AFP)
Well, Le Pen was well and truly trounced in Bordeaux with a whopping 86% for Emmanuel Macron. There were no spontaneous celebrations, unlike when François Hollande was elected, but civic duty had been done to block the unpalatable FN. Bordeaux is typical of one of the many French Paradoxes. It has a reputation for being snooty and bourgeois, it has some very snooty neighbourhoods and a lot of ‘old’ money whispering around. Yet it votes left in all the elections, and just to be contrary, votes without fail for a right-wing mayor.
Whatever you think of the liberal policies Macron will no doubt try to introduce, he actually does have an idea of economics and has more than the simplistic ‘It’s the fault of the immigrants’ reply to every question. But nothing is less certain that, just because the French voted for Macron as president, they will vote his way in the legislative elections next month. Some call it keeping a balance. Others call it utter chaos. This is France, so don’t imagine that the FN will roll over and die. And expect Jean-Luc Mélenchon to get back in the saddle and bring the young people out on the streets behind his far left party. The fun isn’t over yet.
Jane Dougherty Writes 
A relief to see Le Pen trounched, however much chaos is still to come! 🙂
There’s always this ‘co-habitation’ nowadays. It usually means nothing gets done…
Ah, yes I gathered they have a set up in France that means the party in power might not have everything their own way. Is it similar to the two house system in the States? Checks and balances they say, but you’re right, it slows things down too.
It’s the same two house system, but there are a lot of political parties so majorities are almost always alliances with other parties. It sounds sensible, but the majority nearly always comes from the opposite side of the political spectrum to the president, who has a lot of power…That’s where things get stuck.
It sounds like it should make for moderate decisions being made – but probably just leads to delays and prevarication!
I imagine that was the intention, but what usually happens with controversial reforms is that after a lot of shouting, the government forces the measure, there are weeks of protests, marches and riots, and the measure is withdrawn. Full of sound and fury…
It is a big relief to see Le Pen and the FN lose in this instance. That doesn’t mean that they won’t redouble efforts to gain ground later on.
They will, certainly. And Macron’s ideas about modernising society will take far longer than a month to have any effect! We’re in for a bumpy ride.
Change is never easy and in these times it has been traumatic for everyone. The spectre of the Shadow is ever present, generating a lot of fear. Let’s help commonsense and understanding prevail.
It’s true, nobody likes change but our western society needs a serious shake up and for all the far right claims to be an agent for change, they are terribly conservative and reactionary. Everything they advocate has been done before. It’s as though people have forgotten about a certain Herr Hitler…
Whatever else happens, it’s good Le Pen and the FN was defeated. Thank you for the brief explanation of Bordeaux politics, for those of us who know nothing about it. 🙂
It’s not important except if you live here 🙂 It’s certainly a big relief that she got even fewer votes than expected.
🙂
Fingers crossed for the next hurdle in the parliamentary elections – it won’t be easy! I am also proud of my former commune – where 81% voted for Macron, and even my departement in general (Ain), which in the first round had Le Pen in first place, did then have a Macron majority in the second round.
Sigh! Now on to the British elections…
The grandes villes in general voted heavily for Macron. Not much consolation when you’re planning on going to live in the depths of rural deprivation… I don’t envy you your choice in UK. The Labour Party seems to have lost the plot.
Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
Thank you, Michael 🙂
Thanks! I also think so. We are at the beginning, noch at the end of the discussion. ;-(
The world is changing and we have to stand together, not separate, not each in our own blinkered vision of what is. Here’s hoping in a better tomorrow 🙂
Oh yes, lets have hope and let uns be blessed by god.
I’ll stick with hope in human nature 🙂
Sorry “not at the end …” 😉
I got it 🙂
It certainly is not over yet. Amongst all the other concerns the new President has is the difficult reality that this was not quite the drubbing one would like. When you do the Maths and include all the blasted blancs and abstentions she did better than any sane and rational person would want her to. It is absolutely essential that Macron has real support as he gets to work and throughout his term, otherwise I fear the extreme Right will be there with even bigger teeth next time. And you are absolutely right that the Communists will be redoubling their own efforts to try and ensure the young rally harder next time.
The two major parties are out of the running altogether. Macron’s opposition is going to be a vociferous, violent ding-dong of a dog fight between Mélenchon and the FN. I’m dreading it.
We can quake and dread together (or quack and dredge).
You quack; I’ll dredge. Then we’ll swap.
Deal!
🙂