Macron wins French presidential election, Le Pen won 34%, 36% voted for “Nobody”


nsnbc : Emmanuel Macron won the presidential elections with some 65 percent while Marine Le Pen received some 34 percent of the cast votes. The most determining factor in French politics for the coming five years however, may be that some 36 percent of the voters voted for “nobody”.

Emmanuel Macron_France_may 2017With almost all votes counted, the preliminary result of Sundays presidential elections paint a clear picture. Emmanuel Macron received 65,82 percent of the cast votes while his rival Marine Le Pen received 34.18 percent of the cast votes. However, 24.95 percent of the voters abstained. 3.02 percent of the votes were spoiled, and a whopping 8.54 percent (over 4 million) of the voters cast a blank vote. In other words, 36.51 percent of the electorate voted for “Nobody”.

Emmanuel Macron is widely described in terms such as “a political neophyte, a newcomer who suddenly came out of nowhere and rose to power”.. While nothing could be further from the truth. The now liberal Macron and former socialist party member served as deputy secretary-general of the Élysée; A senior role in Hollande’s staff, from 2012 to 2014. In August 2014he was appointed as Minister of Economy and Finance in the second Prime Minister Valls cabinet.

In this function he was at the forefront of pushing “business-friendly reforms” that had tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets and prompted a protracted standoff with labor unions. Macron served also as Minister of Economy between 2007 and 2008. It is also worth noting that Macron, in 2008, paid €50,000 to buy himself out of his government contract and took a highly-paid position at the Rothschild & Cie Banque.

When results Sunday evening showed that he had a solid lead compared to both Le Pen and “Nobody”, Macron made his first, brief post-election speech, positioning more than one third of the electorate who had voted for le Pen as “having endorsed extremism”, saying:

“I know the divisions in our nation that led some to cast a vote for the extremes; I respect them. .. I know the anger, the anxiety, the doubts that a large part of you also expressed. It is my responsibility to hear them. … We are the heirs of a great history and the great humanist message for the world. … We must carry them into the future and give them a new lifeblood.”

National Front leader Marine Le Pen congratulated Macron. However, having achieved an unprecedented result for Front National, Le Pen showed confidence and stressed that the battle had only just begun. Le Pen was referring to the legislative elections for parliament and the senate next month and stressed that Macron will have to face stiff opposition. One of the  problems Macron and his new En Marche party will have to face next month is that it lacks the a base as well as party structure and high-profile members that the older, more established parties have; And, Le Pen was not the only one to pay attention to this. Mélenchon, took the stage to call on his seven million first-round voters to mobilise for the legislative elections next month. “The legislative elections must show after a vote of refusal and fear, the moment has come for a positive choice,” he said.

Le Pen stressed that France voted for continuity, saying: “The National Front, which has embarked on a strategy of alliances, must also profoundly renew itself in order to live up to this historic opportunity and the expectations of the French. … I therefore promise to undertake a thorough transformation of our movement to constitute a new political force.” Le Pen also hinted that her National Front party may rename itself, a sentiment echoed by deputy party leader Florian Philippot, who told a French TV station Sunday that the party would “transform itself into a new political force which, by definition, means it will no longer have the same name”.

Le Pen, only candidate with courage to denounce Sarcozy's and Hollande's failed military adventures in Libya and Syria as root causes for the humanitarian disaster called "migrant crisis".

Le Pen, only candidate with courage to denounce Sarcozy’s and Hollande’s failed military adventures in Libya and Syria as root causes for the humanitarian disaster called “migrant crisis”.

Leaving the euro zone was one of Le Pen’s key policies, but many voters oppose the idea while they would endorse a policy toward more national sovereignty within the EU.

Over the past few days, Le Pen had said it wasn’t a pre-condition to her economic plans and the timetable could be extended, but she stuck to her wish to return to the French franc.

Le Pen and the National Front – provided that it makes slight adjustments to its policy – could also attract voters who are against the modo-colonialist French Africa policy and the military adventurism like that in Libya (and Syria) that is one of the root causes for the displacement of millions and the wave of refugees and migrants that has swept across Europe.

Ironically, it was Le Pen, who was blasted as a fascist and racist, who was the only candidate who openly blasted the administrations of Sarkozy and Hollande for their military adventures in Libya and Syria  and for having caused the so-called migrant crisis.

CH/L – nsnbc 08.05.2017



Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/05/08/macron-wins-french-presidential-election-le-pen-won-34-36-voted-for-nobody/

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes