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Landslide: Macron Wins with 65.1% of the vote in France. (Screenshot)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron has won the French presidency with a landslide victory over the far-right, nationalist Marine Le Pen of Front National. Macron, 39, a former economy minister who ran as a "neither left nor right" independent, took 65.1% to Le Pen's 34.9%, according to election projections released after polls closed at 8pm local time (2pm EDT).
Macron's margin of victory was larger than the lead he had in the latest available polls of French voters. Many Macron voters were voting against the far-right xenophobic polices of Le Pen and her party - Front National.
As economist Mark Weisbrot wrote Friday:
"As France heads into the second and final round of its presidential election on Sunday, a number of observers have compared the choice between the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and centrist neoliberal Emmanuel Macron with the Trump-Clinton contest of 2016. There are similarities: Le Pen, who is politely called xenophobic, like Trump represents an anti-immigrant, right-wing nationalism combined with some populist appeals. Macron is a former investment banker and economy minister under the current Socialist government who, like Hillary, is widely seen as too close to powerful financial interests.
But one significant difference is that if Hillary had won the US presidency in 2016, she would most likely have tried to win some net improvements in the living standards and economic security of the majority of the electorate -- including working class and poor people -- who voted for her. The same cannot be said for Macron in France. His public platform has been vague, but insofar as it has a discernible trend, it is in the same direction that the country has moved over most of the past decade. That has included large public pension cuts, labor law reform that has weakened the bargaining power of unions and made it easier for employers to dismiss workers (including the Macron Law, as it is called, of 2015), and spending cuts.
How does France, a country with an advanced welfare state that provides nearly free university tuition, universal health care, and free childcare, end up with less of a choice than what Americans faced last year? (And don't get me wrong: I think it's still an important choice to make, given the special dangers that Le Pen, like Trump, represents.)"
\u201c@Ali_Gharib 46% of American voters went for a candidate who was almost as fascist as Le Pen.\u201d— Ali Gharib (@Ali Gharib) 1494182352
\u201cLePen got: 35%. \nTrump approval rating: 35%.\nPercent of people who don't believe in evolution: 36%. Nice to see there is a cap on stupidity. https://t.co/WiSFyMFkec\u201d— janey v. (official) \ud83d\udd4a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@janey v. (official) \ud83d\udd4a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1494180658
\u201cTwo weeks ago, Trump said terrorist attack would upend French election in favor of Le Pen.\n\nToday, France rejected that fear in a landslide.\u201d— Matt McDermott (@Matt McDermott) 1494180328
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Centrist Emmanuel Macron has won the French presidency with a landslide victory over the far-right, nationalist Marine Le Pen of Front National. Macron, 39, a former economy minister who ran as a "neither left nor right" independent, took 65.1% to Le Pen's 34.9%, according to election projections released after polls closed at 8pm local time (2pm EDT).
Macron's margin of victory was larger than the lead he had in the latest available polls of French voters. Many Macron voters were voting against the far-right xenophobic polices of Le Pen and her party - Front National.
As economist Mark Weisbrot wrote Friday:
"As France heads into the second and final round of its presidential election on Sunday, a number of observers have compared the choice between the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and centrist neoliberal Emmanuel Macron with the Trump-Clinton contest of 2016. There are similarities: Le Pen, who is politely called xenophobic, like Trump represents an anti-immigrant, right-wing nationalism combined with some populist appeals. Macron is a former investment banker and economy minister under the current Socialist government who, like Hillary, is widely seen as too close to powerful financial interests.
But one significant difference is that if Hillary had won the US presidency in 2016, she would most likely have tried to win some net improvements in the living standards and economic security of the majority of the electorate -- including working class and poor people -- who voted for her. The same cannot be said for Macron in France. His public platform has been vague, but insofar as it has a discernible trend, it is in the same direction that the country has moved over most of the past decade. That has included large public pension cuts, labor law reform that has weakened the bargaining power of unions and made it easier for employers to dismiss workers (including the Macron Law, as it is called, of 2015), and spending cuts.
How does France, a country with an advanced welfare state that provides nearly free university tuition, universal health care, and free childcare, end up with less of a choice than what Americans faced last year? (And don't get me wrong: I think it's still an important choice to make, given the special dangers that Le Pen, like Trump, represents.)"
\u201c@Ali_Gharib 46% of American voters went for a candidate who was almost as fascist as Le Pen.\u201d— Ali Gharib (@Ali Gharib) 1494182352
\u201cLePen got: 35%. \nTrump approval rating: 35%.\nPercent of people who don't believe in evolution: 36%. Nice to see there is a cap on stupidity. https://t.co/WiSFyMFkec\u201d— janey v. (official) \ud83d\udd4a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@janey v. (official) \ud83d\udd4a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1494180658
\u201cTwo weeks ago, Trump said terrorist attack would upend French election in favor of Le Pen.\n\nToday, France rejected that fear in a landslide.\u201d— Matt McDermott (@Matt McDermott) 1494180328
Centrist Emmanuel Macron has won the French presidency with a landslide victory over the far-right, nationalist Marine Le Pen of Front National. Macron, 39, a former economy minister who ran as a "neither left nor right" independent, took 65.1% to Le Pen's 34.9%, according to election projections released after polls closed at 8pm local time (2pm EDT).
Macron's margin of victory was larger than the lead he had in the latest available polls of French voters. Many Macron voters were voting against the far-right xenophobic polices of Le Pen and her party - Front National.
As economist Mark Weisbrot wrote Friday:
"As France heads into the second and final round of its presidential election on Sunday, a number of observers have compared the choice between the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and centrist neoliberal Emmanuel Macron with the Trump-Clinton contest of 2016. There are similarities: Le Pen, who is politely called xenophobic, like Trump represents an anti-immigrant, right-wing nationalism combined with some populist appeals. Macron is a former investment banker and economy minister under the current Socialist government who, like Hillary, is widely seen as too close to powerful financial interests.
But one significant difference is that if Hillary had won the US presidency in 2016, she would most likely have tried to win some net improvements in the living standards and economic security of the majority of the electorate -- including working class and poor people -- who voted for her. The same cannot be said for Macron in France. His public platform has been vague, but insofar as it has a discernible trend, it is in the same direction that the country has moved over most of the past decade. That has included large public pension cuts, labor law reform that has weakened the bargaining power of unions and made it easier for employers to dismiss workers (including the Macron Law, as it is called, of 2015), and spending cuts.
How does France, a country with an advanced welfare state that provides nearly free university tuition, universal health care, and free childcare, end up with less of a choice than what Americans faced last year? (And don't get me wrong: I think it's still an important choice to make, given the special dangers that Le Pen, like Trump, represents.)"
\u201c@Ali_Gharib 46% of American voters went for a candidate who was almost as fascist as Le Pen.\u201d— Ali Gharib (@Ali Gharib) 1494182352
\u201cLePen got: 35%. \nTrump approval rating: 35%.\nPercent of people who don't believe in evolution: 36%. Nice to see there is a cap on stupidity. https://t.co/WiSFyMFkec\u201d— janey v. (official) \ud83d\udd4a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@janey v. (official) \ud83d\udd4a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1494180658
\u201cTwo weeks ago, Trump said terrorist attack would upend French election in favor of Le Pen.\n\nToday, France rejected that fear in a landslide.\u201d— Matt McDermott (@Matt McDermott) 1494180328