Macron has emerged as the sole viable counter-narrative to the rise of populism and the collapse of moderate forces.
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| Emmanuel Macron |
In terms of politics, France has entered potentially perilous ground. There is some comfort in Emmanuel Macron's strong performance in the first round of the presidential elections, which took place on Sunday. No prize has been awarded to the present president, but he begins with a distinct advantage in his ability to overcome the extreme right of Marine Le Penin in the second round on April 24th, and so escape a disaster of democracy in France and Europe. The fact that historical center-right and center-left parties have been driven to extinction, and that populist movements of all shades have won an overwhelming majority, raises alarm bells in the wake of the recent elections. France is not just any country: it is a basic democracy in the European Union, a nuclear power, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. France is also a member of the United Nations Security Council.
The Socialist Party's electoral disaster is unassailable, as their candidate Anne Hidalgo fails to get even a sliver of 2 percent of the vote, which is the threshold for being considered an extra-parliamentary force. The party of Presidents François Mitterrand and François Hollande, which is a member of the European Social Democratic family, has made a significant contribution to the development of contemporary France as well as the integration of the European Union. It is just a little improvement for the Republicans (formerly known as the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) of Nicolas Sarkozy and before that as Grouping for the Republic (RPR, in its French acronym), which is the successor of Gaullism) in this election. However, his candidate, Valérie Pécresse, is polling at less than 5 percent. The parties that have alternated in power since the 1980s and have served as the backbone of this nation together receive less than 7 percent of the popular vote.
That which transpired in these elections is the culmination of a process that began with the 2017 presidential elections, which Macron won with a project that sparked great expectations but quickly sputtered as it devolved into a collection of economic recipes that were disconnected from the needs of the most vulnerable sectors of society. That procedure has now been sped up considerably. In the aftermath of the major historical parties' anguish, both the moderate right and the moderate left are in shambles, and France loses two pro-European and Atlanticist formations that have advocated for a market economy controlled by state involvement and redistribution. Even after decades of transformation, there is still a three-headed landscape that demonstrates how much the so-called old politics has shifted, and new structures are being imposed that have nothing in common with the methods of managing public affairs that were dominant until just a few decades ago. Toward the center of Macron's political spectrum is the wide center, which comprises -both among its leaders and among its followers — former social democrats who had become disgusted with the Republicans. As well as the nationalist and populist right of Marine Le Pen and the populist left of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the third most voted candidate, who is quite close to the far-right party.
It is not the fault of Macron, nor of Le Pen, nor of Mélenchon, that both socialists and republicans, victims of their ideological lack of definition, their internal quarrels, and their disconnection from the challenges of the modern world, have sacrificed themselves and that their voters have migrated en masse to other formations, but rather the fault of the voters themselves. Macron, on the other hand, has taken advantage of the situation to solidify himself as the sole viable choice in the system. He enjoys playing with fire. Although they have diametrically opposed viewpoints on matters including as immigration, both Le Pen and Mélenchon are united in their opposition to the ruling elites and their desire to overthrow the established order. Changing the consensus in France is no longer an option since the country has moved beyond that point. It is a prescription for instability in France, as well as a danger for the rest of Europe.