Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen to Advance to French Election Runoff

Whether or not France will remain aligned with the European Union or will follow the United Kingdom’s lead and head for a “Frexit” largely comes down to which presidential candidate emerges victorious in this round of elections. On Sunday, French voters favored two very different contenders: the centrist, pro-Europe newcomer Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front.

The New York Times reported as results came in that, as in recent elections in the U.S. and U.K., French voters’ choices indicate a rejection of mainstream politics and the parties that support them and that, because of the closeness of Sunday’s polling, the two front-runners seemed to be on track for a runoff on May 7. Here’s more from the Times’ account:

Ms. Le Pen spoke later to supporters in the small town of Hénin-Beaumont in northern France, and although the final results were unclear, she could claim a victory of sorts. Not only will she be in the runoff for the first time, but she also got a higher percentage of votes than she did in 2012, and a higher percentage than her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, did in 2002, when he made it to the second round as the candidate for the far-right National Front.

She said the outcome was “an act of French pride, that of a people who are raising up their heads, that of a people sure of their values and confident of the future.”

Few analysts give her much of a chance of winning in the second round, however. Even before official results were announced, the political establishment was rallying behind Mr. Macron, warning of the dangers of a victory by Ms. Le Pen’s National Front.

Bernard Cazeneuve, the sitting Socialist prime minister, called Ms. Le Pen’s project “dangerous and sectarian” and said it would “impoverish, isolate and divide” the country.

The parallels between the presidential election in France and the U.S.’ 2016 equivalent have also been a source of interest and anxiety, depending on allegiances, given the similarities between Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump on key platform issues like immigration and national identity.

Macron is a 39-year-old newcomer to France’s political scene whose status as a relative unknown may have helped him thus far, but if recent U.S. history is any indication, he’ll probably need to present more of a distinct profile than that of the anti-Le Pen to clinch a win.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s tally represents the end of the line for the left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and establishment right candidate François Fillon. Read Alan Minsky’s report about Mélenchon’s message here.

—Posted by Kasia Anderson

Related Entries

• April 20, 2017 Yes, Sweden Is a Paradise Lost—but Not Because of Immigration
• April 20, 2017 Donald Trump’s Modern-Day Gestapo