‘French voters are getting irritated about having to vote against someone rather than for’

‘French voters are getting irritated about having to vote against someone rather than for’

[Music] a snap election in France Emanuel macron goes to the country in an immediate reaction to his party’s poor showing in the European elections the far out romblon National outperformed macron’s list it had been predicted by the opinion polls but there has always been a kind of Unwritten pact here in France anyone but the far right but today the revamped far right has succeeded in gaining ground across France this tells the story of how National rally is now the biggest party in this vote in the European elections renew that is the macron block coming in second worth noting the rise of the Socialist Party uh which at one point was non-existent but now appears to be on the growth again Emanuel macron then taking a gamble politically much like the Goa miton before him who went to the polls to tackle a crisis but we’ll just leave macron as a canat a lame duck president of the far right finally achieving what some say is the unthinkable and gaining actual power in the assembly National the French lower house of Congress Andrew hilia with this report Emanuel macron’s role of the dice has been described as one of the biggest gambles in French political history and the stakes are massive this election will have the most far-reaching consequences for France and the French people in the history of the fifth Republic according to Media reports a tiny circle of advisers spent months working on the high stakes plan by putting it into action it could draw attention away from his crushing electoral defeat in the European elections focusing Minds on the upcoming battle for the National Assembly analysts say macron is moving to reclaim the initiative by calling the national rallies Bluff and forcing it into an election faster than it had hoped so what are the possible outcomes this is the scenario that Emanuel macron would like to see a snap election that jolts voters of different political Persuasions into rallying around a mainstream candidate to Halt the gains of the far right it’s a very risky gamble the so-called Republican vote against the far right has been largely eroded at these elections they even gained new voters another possibility is that no one party wins anything near a majority leading to a messy Parliament for the next 3 years and making it even harder to pass legislation but there’s another possible outcome sweeping farri gains that could lead to what’s called cohabitation in France when the president is forced to appoint a prime minister from the political opposition because it’s the only candidate capable of winning the backing of the National Assembly Andrew hilia sets the scene let’s now get some in-depth analysis Arian ban joins us Arian is a senior lectorate in French politics at North Thurber University joining us there from the northeast of England in Newcastle on tha Arian as always pleasure to have you here on France 24 macron’s gamble just tell us what’s at stake I mean it’s it’s it’s a huge Gamble and uh you know like so many people yesterday I was I was GB smacked it was such a curveball no one expected that and I think the reason why it’s such a gamble is usually when you have um when you have a relative majority you use dis solution when the circumstances are right as in when you have good reasons to believe that you are going to win win but the circumstances here are totally different mro is in popular after seven years he has generated a lot of anger especially over the pension reform and we could see the payback yesterday he suffered a crushing uh defeat yesterday the far right is above 30% and it has momentum so it’s not the good conditions to do a disolution and that’s why it’s a Gumble because we might end up in a month’s time with a uh a far-right prime minister so it’s it’s it’s it’s a massive shock and a massive gamble it would have been Unthinkable wouldn’t it not so long ago that the farai could be in this position I can recall back in uh 2002 you’ll correct me if I’m wrong uh when Jean Marie Leen made it to round two and that yeah scandalized everybody there was like cries of never the far right never the far right yeah yeah what’s changed in France I mean you know we we have seen the rise of the far right see since well since 2002 uh and especially since uh 2017 when Marine Leen went to the second round and then uh 2022 uh there’s a lot of uh you know drivers for it there’s a lot of grievances economic social grievances a lot of fear about the future the fear of being uh neglected there is an anxiety about uh about um sorry about identity about you know immigration there’s a fear of security and we should not forget that the far right has been normalized it normalized itself by ton it down its rhetorics changing its message but it’s also been uh normalized by other parties when maon did his immigration law and used some form of national preference That Was Then struck down by the Constitutional Council it helps to normaliz it and we see it as well with the media where you know I I’ve been in France for nearly months now and I you know when I watch the the the news channel at night the debates are all centered on farri narratives like immigration and or security so all of these factors explain the situation plus the anger against macron and uh so many crisis since really 2019 you know the yellow vest the the covid the war in Ukraine the the cost of living and this this feeling that maon is not doing uh you know is not doing enough to to to to bring hope I’ll get off the fence and I’ll say it um the national front National sorry National National rally Ras National that’s part of the rebranding too isn’t it changing from the old name associated with Jean Mari Leen into this new name getting Jordan B bellaa to front things instead of marine Leen changing literally the face of the far right in France but essentially it it is the same old uh racist rhetoric is it not this attitude towards towards immigrants towards migrants it’s it’s basic racism it is uh the the the the core program has never changed it’s the packaging that has changed the you know smoothing uh of of the rhetoric uh but it remains a nativist uh party that wants National preference for uh you know French uh French people that they defined in a in a specific way it the core program has for change it’s the packaging that has and it’s the normalization and the mainstream isation of this party that has changed but yes it remains a nativist party F example of that that it’s about color as well Jordan bardella who is of Italian descent and not that far back I think it’s his grandfather said that well there are two types of migrants you know there’s migrants like me and then the ones who aren’t white that he didn’t say the ones that aren’t white but that that was the implication it’s the subtext and it’s always there and it’s always been there so yeah it it it hasn’t changed but it has capitalized on on the anger on uh you know the various crisis and on Macon that right from the start really has been seen as arrogant as uh cut off from uh Ordinary People and it has capitalized on the on the collapse of the of the Socialist Party which has come back for you know yesterday we we we saw the green Shoots for the Socialist Party but it it it has fed you know it has and and let’s not forget as well that it is it has been perceived as the main opposition party and it has been positioned as such by maon who thought that it would benefit by you know putting the national rally as its main opponent to to to C to try and and and recreate this Republican front against uh against the national rally but it hasn’t worked and we’ll have to see what happens in the election but there is a likelihood that the far right might win the FR Republican the Republican front which is usually this this barrage politically which is set up against the far right I.E vote for anybody but the far right why why is that seemingly dissolved now I think it’s because it started in 2002 as as you um uh sorry as you said uh earlier when Jean Marie Leen uh went to the second round of the presidential election and it was it was a scandal so this was created then but it has been used and used and used ever since and I think um a lot of Voters are getting irritated are getting uh you know unhappy at the idea of having to vote yet again against someone rather than for so a lot of Voters are are basically grew tired of this you know of this Republic conf front it doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen but what we don’t know is the size of it I think there will be an anti- far right kind of rally whether it benefits macon’s candidates or the left candidates if they manage to unite which is always a bit of a problem for the left we’ll have to see but we can’t take it for granted anymore we could in 2002 but people have grown tired of the same old Republican front Arian ban I could talk for much much longer with you because it’s always fascinating your Insight is much appreciated however time is up Arian borgan joining us from the oh thank you Arian believe me the thanks is all to you thank you very much indeed Arian borgan senior Lector in French politics at North AR University joining us to give us an insight into macron’s big gamble the snap election we of course will continue all our coverage of every development until voting day and Beyond this is aoo you’re watching

Support for France’s main far-right party, the National Rally, has been climbing steadily in the past two decades, despite the long tradition of mainstream parties uniting to defeat it at the polls. But this tradition may not materialise for the upcoming elections, warns Ariane Bogain, a senior lecturer in French Politics at Northumbria University. She tells FRANCE 24’s Mark Owen that voters are getting irritated about having to vote yet again against someone rather than for them.
#France #politics #elections

🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE – Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN

🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/

Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://f24.my/Xen
Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen
Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen