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April 24th, 2017 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : With more than 95 percent of votes counted Emmanuel Marcron and Marine Le Pen move to the second round of the presidential election with 23.7% and 21.7% respectively. French voters unequivocally said “No” to “more of the same but more of it” even if it is packed under the banner of “change”. But will they get what they have bargained for?
Out of eleven contenders the centrist pro-business, pro-EU, and pro-globalization candidate Emmanuel Marcron finished first while the right-wing, conservative, nationalist and EU-skeptic Marine Le Pen finished second. The two swept away candidates from traditional French “mainstream” parties in a tight and unpredictable race.
Conservative Francois Fillon and far-left Jean-Luc Melenchon were neck to neck in the third place with 19% each. Seven other candidates, including ruling Socialist Party candidate Benoit Hamon were lagging far behind. It’s noteworthy that Socialist president Francois Hollande, who won his presidency on a campaign for “Change” is the first president in recent French history not to seek a second term.
Many, even core members within the Socialist party expected that Hollande would “change course” with regard to French foreign policy in northern Africa, its former West African colonies, and the Middle East. Instead, what Hollande delivered was “more of the same but more”. After predecessor Sarkozy’s disastrous intervention in Libya Hollande delivered a continuation of its policy of economic usurpation in West Africa’s CFA-Frank zone, the continuation of policies that led to the disaster in Libya, participation in the assault on Syria, and more.
Hollande’s arguably greatest success was that he, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, succeeded at brokering the Minsk Accord for Ukraine that led to a volatile ceasefire there – and most importantly that this ceasefire was brokered with participation of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany without the UK and the USA. This policy reflected polls that show that about half of French and German citizens do not see their countries as solidly and permanently anchored in NATO. As former French Foreign Minister and Socialist Roland Dumas would put it during Hollande’s presidency “France has become NATO’s dog” and “NATO is beneficial for those who are running it”.
Most leaders in EU countries and prominent EU countries already congratulated the 39-year-old Macron, the youngest contender who launched his own bid last year betting on a multiform platform aimed at courting votes from different political views. Macron is a former investment banker and economy minister who was within the establishment but under the radar two years ago. Candidates of defeated parties, members of Socialist government and conservative politicians who didn’t make it through to the second round, invited voters to back Macron to dash Le Pen’s hope.
“This defeat is mine and it is for me and me alone to bear it,” said Fillon, the one-time favorite to win the election until a fake job scandal threw his bid out of the track earlier this year. “In the meantime, we have to choose what’s best for our country. There is no other choice but to vote against the far right, I will vote for Emmanuel Macron,” he said. Hamon, who failed to maintain the ruling Socialists in power for a second term, said: “Without hesitation, as far as I’m concerned, we must unite behind Emmanuel Macron.” Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called for “a clear and strong position of all Republicans,” to throw a spanner at Le Pen who is vying to occupy the Elysee Palace for the next five years.
In his campaign, he said he wants to reshape the country’s political landscape by proposing progressive projects “to pull France into the 21st century.” “In one year, we have changed the face of French politics,” Macron told supporters who chanted “We will win.” “The challenge is to open a new page of our political life and to act so that everyone can find a place in France and in Europe,” he said. Pro-liberal market Macron proposed a mix of public spending and investment in innovative sectors to inject dynamism in French economy and create more jobs. He pleaded for stronger “Europe that protects.” Those skeptic of Macron will say that he will “offer more of the same but worse”.. as in more cuts in wages, more neo-liberalist “freedom for vulture capital”, more unemployment, more crack downs on people who strike …
Marine Le Pen, generally denounced as “far-right” by her opponents, is portraying herself “the candidate of people”, a populist in the true sense of populism and constitutional democracy. Le Pen hailed “a historic result” on Sunday which she described as “an act of people’s pride.” Ironically, Le Pen stood solid enough without having to appeal to voters as “female presidential candidate” (or the youngest like Macron).
The 48-year -old Marine Le Pen favors a more restrictive immigration policy. Moreover, she promised to protect French citizens against “savage globalization” and to “defend the French nation’s unity, security, culture, prosperity and independence”. Le Pen opposes the European Union’s perceived right to dictate “migrant quota” and pledged to slash migration, impose taxes on foreigners’ job contracts, return to the local currency and restore internal borders. Le pen was somewhat ambiguous about the foreign policy that has led to the contemporary era of what many describe as slave ships that are crossing the Mediterranean to flood Europe with the displaces and those who escape the tragic economic consequences of globalization.
CH/L – nsnbc 24.04.2017
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/04/24/macron-and-le-pen-move-to-second-round-in-french-presidential-elections/
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