Major takeaway from French election

The re-election of Emmanuel Macron as President of France defeating Marine Le Pen in the Presidential run-off election does not exactly reflect the ground realities. Macron got 58.5 per cent of the vote while Le Pen bagged 41.5 per cent. That is for record sake.

The election also saw the interference of outside forces – countries fearing the rise of the right wing forces in France – in the form of a joint appeal to the electorate to re-elect Macron. This marks the new beginning in European politics. France is supposed to be the epitome of freedom and democracy etc. Its spirited liberal voices have guided free thinking men around the world for long. The legacy of the Age of Enlightenment, with the motto of "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité," first appeared during the French Revolution. Although it was often called into question, it finally established itself under the Third Republic. It was written into the 1958 Constitution and is a part of the French national heritage.

There seems to be relief in Europe that Le Pen has been prevented from capturing the key position in the country at this inflection point of France's history. The Left forces are also rejoicing over the outcome as the difference in vote per cent between Le Pen and the radical Left candidate Luc Melenchon (who heads the movement, La France Insoumise) is not much. In fact, the first round of election saw Macron bag 27.85 per cent of the vote while Le Pen got 23.15 per cent and Melenchon 21.95 per cent. Thus Melenchon could be said to have improved upon his 19.6 per cent vote of 2017.

It may be noted that but for the French Communist Party and the two Trotskyite Party candidates, the extreme Left in France would have replaced the right wing Le Pen. Is Macron an angel? Is he a liberal and a democrat? France knows very well that Macron is "president of the rich" and the poor and the working class do not matter to him at all. He freed the rich from the taxes and imposed a huge burden on the poor.

In fact, it could be wrong to term Le Pen as a far-right force as is being preferred by the Left extreme forces of the country. Le Pen represents the "local interests" against global forces. She herself proclaims that her ideology is far closer to the Left as it promotes the interests of the working class population against the onslaught of the global forces and Macron-led big industry forces.

Anyway, France's Left and Right are from the same origin. The Right have appropriated the slogan of nationalism and localism. A feeling that Islam has emerged as an existential threat to France is, perhaps, the most visible sign of the right-wing wave in the country. Security and immigration have become key to the reactionary Right politics in the country. The Left and liberal forces might consider this as 'practice of hate' but France has been facing a threat from the extreme Islamic forces just as Belgium. The militancy of these forces would certainly promote right wing reactions in the world. France shall be no exception. The Left extreme wing may consider the Right wing forces as inimical to the progress of the nation, yet, voters may have a different view.