French Elections 2017

Analysis

After Landslide, Macron’s Challenge Lies in Forgotten France

French president Emmanuel Macron greets Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy outside the Elysée Palace in Paris, France, June 16
French president Emmanuel Macron greets Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy outside the Elysée Palace in Paris, France, June 16 (La Moncloa)

French president Emmanuel Macron has won a comfortable majority for his centrist party, La République En Marche!, but low turnout points to the difficult task ahead: convincing the less prosperous half of France to give him a chance. Read more

Analysis

Macron Projected to Win Comfortable Majority in French Election

French president Emmanuel Macron speaks with Xavier Bettel and Justin Trudeau, the prime ministers of Luxembourg and Canada, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, May 25
French president Emmanuel Macron speaks with Xavier Bettel and Justin Trudeau, the prime ministers of Luxembourg and Canada, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, May 25 (NATO)

France’s new president, Emmanuel Macron, is projected to win a comfortable majority for his centrist party, La République en March, in the legislative elections this weekend and next.

Most polls have En Marche hovering north of 30 percent support for the first voting round on Sunday.

The center-right Republicans are in second place with around 20 percent support, followed by the far-right National Front at 18 percent. Read more

Analysis

After Presidential Defeat, French Parties Divided

The French Socialist Party's Benoît Hamon participates in a meeting, March 21
The French Socialist Party’s Benoît Hamon participates in a meeting, March 21 (Facebook)

Neither of France’s two major political parties was able to get their candidate into the second voting round of the presidential election last week. That failure, without precedent in the history of the Fifth Republic, has plunged them both into a deep crisis. Read more

Explainer

French System Encourages Temporary, Not Permanent, Polarization

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, October 8, 2010
The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, October 8, 2010 (Millan P. Rible)

Matt Yglesias of Vox points out on Twitter:

You see in Trump vs Le Pen once again that authoritarian nationalist movements only win with the support of the establishment right.

There are two particular reasons why this may be the case. Read more

Analysis

British See French Election Through Prism of Own Politics

The United Kingdom on a globe
The United Kingdom on a globe (Ali Wade)

While we in United Kingdom do not have a vote in today’s presidential runoff, the election in France has dominated conversation and news. Which is somewhat remarkable, given the state of Britain’s own politics. Read more

Live

Emmanuel Macron Elected President of France

French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron is seen behind the scenes of a television program, April 9
French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron is seen behind the scenes of a television program, April 9 (Facebook)
  • Emmanuel Macron, France’s centrist former economy minister, defeated Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, in Sunday’s presidential election with 66 to 34 percent support.
  • Macron is slated to be inaugurated as the eighth president of the Fifth Republic next week. He will serve a five-year term. Read more
Analysis

France Likely to Dial Down Relations with Qatar After Election

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, in Athens, Greece, October 1, 2011
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, in Athens, Greece, October 1, 2011 (Prime Minister of Greece)

The cozy relationship enjoyed between France and Qatar may come to an end after the election on Sunday. Both Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen have bashed the Persian Gulf state on the campaign trail.

“I will put an end to the agreements that favor Qatar in France,” Macron, the frontrunner, said last month. “I think there was a lot of complacencies, during Nicolas Sarkozy’s five-year term in particular.” Read more