The Macronous Future of France

The French choice proved as ambivalent as Paris's foreign policy. French President Emmanuel Macron, who is running for a second term, voted in the seaside city of Le Touquet (north of the country) in the second round of elections by noon local time. The current president came to the polling station accompanied by his wife. In Le Touque, the Macron family owns a country house, according to a correspondent for The Moscow Post.

According to the BFM TV channel in favor of Macron 57.6% of those who voted, Le Pen is gaining 42.4% of the vote. After Jacques Chirac, he is the first French president to be re-elected for a second term. At 44, Macron remains the youngest president in the history of the Fifth Republic, created more than half a century ago by General Charles de Gaulle. After the announcement of the voting results, the head of state addressed his supporters on the Field of Mars near the Eiffel Tower.

Voter turnout as of 18:00 Moscow time (17:00 Paris time) was 63.23%, two percentage points less than in the second round in 2017 by this hour. The first preliminary results of the vote were released after the closure of polling stations.

About two-thirds of the French would like to change the president, Le Figaro reported two days before the elections, but immediately made a reservation, saying that the French electoral system is designed so that Macron will leave a minority in power, or about a third of voters who are not ready to change anything.

With the first round approaching, the gap between Macron and Le Pen narrowed in the polls in favor of the latter, but Macron won, who then won 27.9% of the vote. Polls conducted before the second round of voting indicated his re-election.

Marine Le Pen, a candidate from the National Association party, called the preliminary voting results a success. "This result was a brilliant victory for us," she said during a rally with voters broadcast by French TV channels. "For us, as for millions of Europeans, this result symbolizes a strong dissatisfaction with the current system."

"Washington Regional Committee" chooses

The results of the second round determine not only the future of the country, but also the prospects of Europe. From the height of the Central Russian Upland, these prospects look faded. Europe is actually ruled by the gigantic and unelected bureaucracy of the European Union, led by personalities influenced not only by the Washington regional committee, but also by the Baltic Russophobic district committees.

The slogan "democracy against autocracies" (translated as "West against Russia") in terms of the practical interests of the EU countries is unable to change something for the better. But under its democratic banners, the European continent has already damaged itself. Ukraine, the independent republics of Donbass and Russia sacrifice the lives of their citizens and military personnel, the infrastructure of Ukrainian cities, ports and factories. France has a direct relationship to this, as a dodgy guarantor of the already forgotten Minsk agreements.

The victims of Europe itself are also not limited to the lives of mercenaries. We are talking about the reputation of European civilization, which was born in a whirlpool of endless wars, but can die from war. Much has already been done for this, including the reincarnation of Nazism in Ukraine and the Baltic states. The image of the enemy has been revived, these are Russia and Belarus.

Advanced detachments have been identified - the younger "hyena of Europe" Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states. The common place was the statements of European politicians about nuclear weapons. Armed with this weapon, Britain's "senior hyena" discusses Prime Minister Johnson's dancing, hidden from the eyes of antiquated authorities, as well as the newfound freedom to create foreign intrigues.

EuroNATO does not get the real, and not the ceremonial strengthening of NATO and individual national armies. Then everything will be ready for the next, third global conflict with the center in Europe. The fact that these will not be tank wedges Brussels and other European capitals are not yet fully aware. But Russia's faith in the bright future of the European repair homeland has faded, especially with Angela Merkel's retirement.

Olaf Scholz, who replaced Merkel, dismantled much of what had been done before him, including the "oriental developments" of the elders of his own party, as well as the memory of World War II. Hence the interest in the results of the elections in France, which can determine whether the Europeans will have their own leader. France is the founding country of the European Union, Paris is the backstop of the EU along with Germany.

Before the last election in 2017, Europe was weakened by the eurozone crisis in 2010-2012, the migration crisis in 2015 and the pro-Brexit referendum in 2016. Speaking on April 12 in Strasbourg, Macron said: "The presidential election is also a referendum on the future of Europe." According to him, the situation is now very serious, since hostilities have been underway again in the heart of the continent since the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, creating risks for EU security.

Blah blah, and president for the rich

Macron and Le Pen participated in a three-hour TV debate, setting out live on six TV channels a vision of the problems that voters care about: purchasing power, pensions, protecting the natural environment, energy supply to the country. The media took an active part in the election race. With their help, Macron kept the appearance of the leader of the elite, the "president for the rich," according to French media, looked preferable. Le Pen relies more on the support of "ordinary people," outback residents and "yellow vests" opposed to the government.

His colleagues also sided with Macron. He was "helped" by Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself, who appeared on the BFM news channel a few hours before the election debate. He criticized Le Pen, spoke with respect about the current president. Chancellor Scholz and the prime ministers of Spain and Portugal recalled that he was "working well" with Macron.

Three European prime ministers from among the Social Democrats - Spaniard Pedro Sanchez, Portuguese Antonio Costa, German Olaf Scholz - wrote an article in the newspaper Mond (the issue was published on April 22). The article was aimed at influencing the election campaign. On behalf of Europe, they urged the French not to vote for the far right and Marine Le Pen.

Politicians leading countries once ruled by fascist dictatorships have been particularly sensitive to the threat posed by a "far-right candidate who attacks freedom and democracy." They were joined by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who would also like to continue working with a proven president.

Macron gives preference to a united Europe, strengthening the role of the EU, close cooperation with Germany. Le Pen, who called for leaving the EU, softened the rhetoric, began to speak out in favor of an "alliance of European nations," but with the strengthening of sovereignty. She proposed to reduce contributions to the EU budget by five billion euros.

During the debate, Macron attacked Le Pen, accusing her of being dependent on Russia, although she said she condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine and supported helping Kyiv with defensive weapons. At the same time, Le Pen did not hesitate to say that she considers Crimea to be Russian and that she will seek Paris's withdrawal from NATO command structures.

In the field of increasing incomes of the population, Macron proposed increasing subsidies and limiting price increases, gradually increasing the retirement age from 62 to 65 years.

Le Pen considered it "unfair" and advocated tax cuts, proposing the abolition of income tax for young people and a reduction in VAT on fuel from 20% to 5.5%.

Both candidates proposed developing nuclear power, but did not agree on the construction of expensive wind farms that disfigure landscapes. "You want to stumble them everywhere, on every coast, just not opposite Le Touquet," Le Pen said, hinting that it is in this seaside town that Macron's wife has a house.

Issues of gas and oil imports from Russia, a ban on wearing a hijab in public places, and the fight against immigration were discussed.

Recall in this regard that Macron before the second round of elections argued that France does not depend on the supply of Russian natural gas. In total, in 2021, France purchased almost 23 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia, more than Belarus (19.8 billion cubic meters).

And talk to Putin

Macron diligently beat the "Kyiv card" and tried to make himself the main European speaker with Moscow, along the way intimidated fellow citizens with a "nuclear war." After February 24, he spoke with Vladimir Putin at least nine times. Typically, each call lasted more than an hour.

Macron said that if he wins the second round, he "does not exclude" another conversation with the Russian president, although he will talk with Zelensky before. He urged European leaders to maintain dialogue with Russia "to avoid the risk of another world war" and called on Europe to become a "force for balance."

"I consider it my duty to take such initiatives at the request of Ukraine... and even in this case, when we condemn, apply sanctions and continue to act, leave this path of dialogue open so that when conditions are provided, we can achieve an end to hostilities, "Macron said.

The Kremlin press service, commenting on the conversation between the presidents of the Russian Federation and France, noted that Vladimir Putin gave Macron "comprehensive explanations of the reasons and circumstances of the decision to conduct a special military operation."

RIA Novosti quoted part of Macron's speech during a televised debate with Marie Le Pen: "We need to adhere to our line, which is to prevent the spread of this war. Also, France's role is to support Ukraine, "Macron said.

Speaking on France Inter radio station on Friday with a live interview ahead of the second round, he warned against choosing a military route to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, saying a "decision to escalate the conflict" would lead to a "new world war."

He added that Paris and Berlin decided not to interfere in the conflict, but sent military assistance to Kyiv. Two days before the second round of elections, Macron, nevertheless, told reporters of Ouest-France: "The day before yesterday I spoke on this topic with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. We continue to supply Ukraine with significant volumes of weapons, from the Milan missile system to the Caesar artillery installations, "the French president explained.

Macron does not remove some of the responsibility for the conflict from the West, which, he said, "did not fully think through the architecture of European security" based on NATO, while the Warsaw Pact disappeared. " He predicts the deep geopolitical consequences of the crisis in Ukraine. "We are at the beginning of a change of eras," he says. In this now multipolar world, nuclear powers like Russia, Iran or North Korea could "turn into destabilization forces" that China, "which has refused to condemn aggression against Ukraine," could use "to overhaul the balance of power with the West."

Photo: Ludovic Marin/Pool / REUTERS