[Latest Update] As expected, the French already elected Emmanuel Macron as the next president in the first round. No surprise.
○ Populist Wilders on Le Pen defeat: “We’ll win next time”
Macron elected French president with 65.8% of the vote | France24 |
With polls now closed across the country, centrist Emmanuel Macron has been elected French President with an estimated 65.8% of the vote, with his rival, far-right Marine Le Pen, taking 34.2%. Follow FRANCE 24’s live blog below for the latest news.
- Macron, 39, has become the youngest president of France’s Fifth Republic.
- France’s 47 million voters chose between radically different platforms: the free-trade, pro-EU policies of Macron’s En Marche! (Forward!) party, and the protectionist nationalism of Le Pen’s National Front.
More demographic details about today’s vote:
- Among rural voters, 57% voted for Macron, compared to 43% for Le Pen, with 23% abstaining
- Among urban voters, 72% voted for Macron, 28% for Le Pen, with 27% abstaining
Bill Clinton@billclinton 15 min ago
Congratulations to President-elect @EmmanuelMacron and the French people.
See my earlier diaries …
○ Final French Campaign Day: ‘En Marche’ Leaked Emails Online!
○ France Election: Fake News As It Happened
○ Trump Replica Faces Defeat after Debate Debacle vs Macron
○ France: Macron Wins – National Vote Estimate [Updates]
Hopefully the Seine does not flood like it did last year.
That spot is truly one of the greatest in the World.
Still don’t know if I like the pyramid.
Every great civilization, every great country deserves to have a pyramid. China has one (or several), Egypt, Mexico, various Central and South American countries, even the U.S., though most Americans are unaware of it.
Until the 1980s, Europe/France was lacking one, and this design fits the bill nicely. The modern glass exterior is a stark and dramatic contrast to the backdrop of ancien régime France, while the pyramid shape evokes timeless beauty.
Now if only we could convince the French to return the obélisque of Luxor that they had removed with great difficulty to the Place de la Concorde, and replace it with a glass one.
And then Brits will return the Elgin’s Marbles.
Though hell will probably be frozen by that time.
The entrance once you get in reminds me of a Airport Concourse. But from the outside it is pretty cool.
Proving:
1. French voters are smarter than American voters.
Or
2. Macron is a less flawed candidate than Clinton.
Or
3. Both.
Well, Chirac’s win over Le Pen was even larger. Pit a right wing scum bag against a racist far right wing scum bag and this is what French voters get.
and 4:
Le Pen was actually worse than Trump.
At the end of the day at least 80% of Trump voters were core Republican voters. One difference between Trump and Le Pen is Trump was the candidate of a mainstream party, and Le Pen was not.
If you mean LP worse as a campaigner, perhaps. But consider: Donald, as he once noted, could get away with murder and he would still be popular; a true teflon man. He was given hundreds of hours of free air time on the US msm, worth billions, and unlike LP, wasn’t treated overtly with scorn and contempt. In fact, her opponent benefitted enormously from the glowing coverage he received in the French media. Several outlets, historically of the Left (Le Monde and Libération notably) had been bought out by centrist or banking forces, and so aligned with Macron.
The debates here were more of a dueling press conference affair, which didn’t test Donald’s severe lack of depth on the issues. The second debate in the final round in France was more of a wide-open, head-on confrontation, with the format allowing candidates to pose questions to each other. No easily weaseling out of the situation by resorting to the Donald tactic of uttering generalities — It’s terrible but I’ll make it great, trust me, etc.
Sure glad I didn’t waste any time writing a post first round diary. Some people here need to learn that not every election is a cause for massive fretting and attention.
Le Pen did really really poorly. Based on the initial intentions of first round voters for FI, PS, and LR to shift to Le Pen (18%, 6%, and 28% respectively), she was set to add 3.5 million to her 1st round total plus most (all?) of the other (excluding LaSalle) 2.1 million to the right of Fillon. That would have put her at 13.3 million; still not in contention to win but 72% better than in the 1st round. At 10.6 million, she only added 35%. Safe to conclude that she didn’t get more than 15% of Fillon/LR voters.
Would have been nice to see more liberals show a spine – but that’s probably not in their DNA. So, they along with all the centrists and republicans can own whatever this latest neoliberalcon dishes out.
You might be misinterpreting my comment. In France voters have one other option that we don’t have in the US (except for NV). And liberals availing themselves of it wouldn’t have elected Le Pen.
Do you need a memory refreshed on the 2017 French election?
Me –
Your “gut” was way more off on this one than the worst of the calls here at the Pond were on the US election.
Yes it was. My “gut” usually works better in person. Haven’t been in France for a long time. So it goes.
AG
Your gut may feel better after a trip to France. Failing that, some fine Creole cuisine in New Orleans.
Tip: you can save both your hearing and a cover charge by standing in the sidewalk outside the clubs. They play that loud.
The main thing I have noticed in France over the last 30 years is how much friendlier people seem, and how much more tolerant they are of English.
If I spoke French 30 years ago the conversation would stay in French. Now they hear my accent and many will immediately ask if I prefer English. They will OFFER to switch.
The firm I work for has an office in Paris, and the difference over the years in English proficiency is remarkable.
FWIW.
Anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) enters parliament with a shock 5.5% of the regional vote.
○ AfD’s unlikely duo: Alexander Gauland and Alice Weidel
Ah Schleswig-Holstein! My wife’s ancestor came to Chicago from there in the early 1840’s. it was an independent duchy then. We think he jumped ship. Strangely enough, after coming all that way, the family never moved more than ten miles West.
Donald Trump must just love such a landslide victory he himself could only dream of: 66% vs. 34%.
○ US Congressmen King & Rohrabacher pay a visit to discuss Liberty & shared values with Marine Le Pen
○ Donald Trump: Marine Le Pen is ‘strongest candidate’ in French election
Meanwhile, the turnout was the lowest in over 40 years. And despite the low turnout, the blank/spoiled vote was at 9% the highest ever. See here
In short, the voters voted against the bigot but not for the banker. I’m just glad Macron is not in the party since he could have ended up being the Tony Blair of the French socialist party otherwise.
Turnout: not entirely surprising since the two traditional parties did not have a candidate in the final round, and most of the Left (leftward of the business wing of the PS) felt blah about banker Macron.
Outside of Paris, I suspect there were few people dancing in the streets over the results.
I do think Macron will have a profound effect on France and its position within the EU during his two terms in office. It’s no minor feat to start from scratch, position your movement as a centrist and pick voters from left and right. He mesmerizes the younger generation and his first round spread of voters ranged equally in age groups from the young to the elderly.
The Socialist party is in disarray as are the Republicans of candidate Fillon. In addition Marine Le Pen wants to remake the FN and abolish its name. Moving further away from its roots of Le Pen the elder.
Liberation to search for one’s happiness in life without a burden of public moral judgement. Search for love and once found, embrace him/her and set forth in life being stronger together. Bravo to Emmanuel and Brigitte!
Marine Le Pen tried to ride Trump’s coattails. Instead, on Sunday in France, the center bounced back and won.
○ Merci for nothing, Donald
○ National Front will change its name after Le Pen’s defeat
○ Papers react to Macron’s victory: ‘Well played’
○ From Trump to Trudeau, what world leaders said about Macron’s victory
○ EU press relief at French outcome
○ Full transcript of Emmanuel Macron speech
Already putting Macron in office for ten years? As if they want far more of what led to Hollande’s 4% approval rating? Good grief — he aims to be France’s Blair-Clinton-Cameron-Obama.
Fillon got a larger percentage of the vote than Chirac did in 2002. Difficult for me to abstract from that the Republicans are now in disarray.
In the first round, Macron scooped up that solid center and the non-progressive liberals. Expect Bayrou will get a nice pay-off. Along with Valls and probably Hollande and Fillon as well. IOW — all hail the old gang.
Too bad the Brits don’t have a totally inexperienced right of center option for PM to complete a trifecta – US, France, and UK.
ha ha ha!
That didn’t take long: The Guardian – Emmanuel Macron names Édouard Philippe as French prime minister
From “hopey changey” to sucking up to the right within hours of being installed.
If you want to be totally disgusted read this
I may never vote for President again in my life. I’ll have no chance of an acceptable candidate until 2028 and I’ll be 84 then, if I’m still alive. Basically I’m hanging on to disappoint all those pukes who want to see one more old white man die.
Saw that. Those two just won’t go away, regardless of how many times they and their ilk get rejected. They keep reading those outcomes as minor setbacks for themselves instead of a rejection of them and their faux liberalism and faux feminism.
Leftists have to get real about the question of to stay or to go. There was a sound argument for staying after the ’72 election. After ’76 not so much and less and less with each subsequent election cycle.
Posted this earkier in AG’s diary …
h/t Love fest @dKos
Searching archive here @BooMan, with “onward together” I got a single hit from an excellent blogger …
○ Swimming Up Stream: Against the War on Terror by Boston Joe on July 13, 2006
We are being easily led. In an ongoing war. And perhaps into new wars. And to continuing occupations. And to covert actions to secure our rights to BigMacs and SUVs. I submit to you that it is our own nationalism and militarism that is leading us to a day when our children may well see the mushroom clouds of this administration’s imagination.
Hermann Göring is oft quoted from his defense at the Nuremberg trials:
Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.
○ The Next Front Line in the Fight for Hearts and Minds | Stratfor |
And that was the era where the Russians had no influence on western elections through social media, bots and cyber warfare!
Rolling Stone – The Democrats’ Battle for Montana
(That title should read The Social Democrats’… DNC and DCCC preferred to ignore this one. But Sanders is lending his support.)