Upcoming French Presidential Election

Admit it, you too are bored with the same old topics when it comes to politics. Trump this, Trump that, left this, right that! Let's see what's going on elsewhere in the free world. France is holding elections. I got a lot just from this article on mic.com (disclaimer: I'm not familiar with that site other the article I found so cannot vouch for it's credibility). I won't quote it all but pick out bits and pieces I found interesting. I'm hoping we get some Europeans to comment.

The election process:

The French use a two-round voting system to help pick a winner. In every election where there is a single official to be elected for a given position, the two-round system is used. Candidates can technically win in just one round, but as Business Insider reported, "If no candidate receives an absolute majority of votes during the first round, the two candidates who received the most votes go on to the second round of the election," though no candidate in history has managed to win it on the first go.

Not a bad process considering they have 10 candidates representing different parties. It least it should be over quickly. Sometimes I wish we could speed up the process in the USA.

Out of the 10 candidates, four are in a close lead.

The race to the French presidency looks locked between National Front Leader Marine Le Pen, independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and conservative candidate Francois Fillon.

These four really cover the spectrum of left to right.

The far right:

Le Pen, whose father Jean-Marie Le Pen founded the far-right National Front, studied law and eventually became a legal adviser to the party in 1998. During her rise through the ranks, Le Pen worked hard to change the image of the party her father started for the better. As for her own political stance, Le Pen believes in political and nationalistic isolation, but more on that later.

The Social Liberal:

Emmanuel Macron is the youngest candidate on the ballot. While he has experience in politics, serving under President François Hollande as minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Data, he is the only candidate with zero campaign experience, Business Insider reported. Macron is running as the direct opposite of Le Pen as an independent, socially liberal candidate.

The communist:

Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Mélenchon is the leader of the "France Insoumise," or Unsubmissive France coalition, which is backed by the French Communist Party, and is a member of the European Parliament for South West France. Mélenchon also ran in the 2012 presidential election, but came in fourth in the polls. Mélenchon may seem eerily politically familiar to Americans in one respect.

The crusty old politician:

Francois Fillon. Despite several setbacks, including the fact that he is under investigation for embezzlement of public funds, Fillon is still hanging around in the top four candidate pile. Fillon has extensive political experience and served as prime minister between 2007 and 2012 under former President Nicolas Sarkozy. However, it may not be his scandals that undo his political career, but rather his apparent lack of a personality.

I know a lot of people will reply with "so what, who cares what happens in France?" but I say France is not an insignificant model of what can happen all over Europe. If Le Pen gets in, she's likely push for EU exit. With Great Britain and France gone, that could set the dominos tumbling in the rest of the union. Although, I think a France exit is not very likely. If the socially liberal guy gets in, I foresee a loss of traditional French culture with a flood of refugees.

The first round of voting is this coming Saturday. I might have to find a way to keep up through the day.

Politics aside, sort of, this comic put it into an easy perspective for me.

There is a very Oedipian second-round now that french voted :

The woman who killed her father
VS
The man who married his mother

France will be the first EU country in civil war independently of the election winner ...
With Macron, you get migrant warfare situation from right wing supporters, while with Le Pen you get economic warfare from the lefties.

So, Macron seems to have won ... God help him!

originally posted by: Flanker86
So, Macron seems to have won ... God help him!

God help him?

God help France and europe!!

Funny, people said the French wanted change (and they need it badly), yet they voted for Macron who is a Hollande disciple. More of the same for the French, their decline will continue.