Vive la France!

[Copernicus]

France’s left-wing parties projected to finish first in parliamentary elections, keeping far right at bay

France has joined with the UK in rejecting the surge in authoritarian right wing politics. For now, at least.

In a surprising upset for the far right, a bloc of left-wing parties is projected to finish first, while President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance is predicted to come in second. Polling agencies suggest National Rally, known in France as RN, is set to come in third, despite having swept to victory after the first round of voting last weekend and polling highest among the parties.

Voter turnout was the highest in decades at 67.1%, and official results are expected early Monday.

 

[Derec]

So the French, in swerving to avoid one set of extremists, fell right into the clutches of another set of extremists.

Now France will have a left-wing prime minister. Which means the policies will shift to the left - opposition to Israel, opposition to any efforts to curb mass migration, opposition to necessary reforms. Also, what is the French Left's opinion on Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
And certainly no to repeal the the idiotic law implementing the sexist Swedish Model against consensual adult sex work that the left wing parties passed last time they were in charge.

This result will lead to a lot of problems for France going forward. They should have voted for Marcon's moderate "Ensemble" alliance instead.

 

[Derec]

French Leftists celebrating the election win.

Palestinian flag, Moroccan flag, Antifa flag.

Tells you all you need to know.

 

[Politesse]

France’s left-wing parties projected to finish first in parliamentary elections, keeping far right at bay

France has joined with the UK in rejecting the surge in authoritarian right wing politics. For now, at least.

In a surprising upset for the far right, a bloc of left-wing parties is projected to finish first, while President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance is predicted to come in second. Polling agencies suggest National Rally, known in France as RN, is set to come in third, despite having swept to victory after the first round of voting last weekend and polling highest among the parties.

Voter turnout was the highest in decades at 67.1%, and official results are expected early Monday.

The electorate finally woke up, and hundreds of candidates found it in themselves to do the right thing and withdraw, grâce à dieu. The government will be tied up in knots for a while, though.

Here's hoping good news comes in threes, this year.

 

[Copernicus]

So the French, in swerving to avoid one set of extremists, fell right into the clutches of another set of extremists.

Now France will have a left-wing prime minister. Which means the policies will shift to the left - opposition to Israel, opposition to any efforts to curb mass migration, opposition to necessary reforms. Also, what is the French Left's opinion on Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
And certainly no to repeal the the idiotic law implementing the sexist Swedish Model against consensual adult sex work that the left wing parties passed last time they were in charge.

This result will lead to a lot of problems for France going forward. They should have voted for Marcon's moderate "Ensemble" alliance instead.

No, you don't understand how the French system works. The French parliament is now divided into three groups--the far right, the center, and the leftist New Popular Front. Oddly, it recalls for me the opening of Caesar's Gallic Wars: "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres". Macron would traditionally let the largest group, in this case the leftist coalition, try to form a ruling government and name the prime minister. However, Macron has already ruled out letting his party form an alliance with the New Popular Front, because he considers the France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) party in that coalition to be too radical. In any case, the leftist coalition wants to tear down some of the unpopular policies he has put in place. So it is unlikely that the French Parliament will have a ruling coalition until the next parliamentary elections, which is a full year away. In other words, the French government will be largely hamstrung for a year. Macron's term in office lasts until 2027, and he vowed not to resign no matter how the current election turned out. Just the same, his power to implement policies will be severely weakened over the next year.

 

[Tigers!]

Let us see how co-habitation will work.

 

[Tigers!]

No, you don't understand how the French system works. The French parliament is now divided into three groups--the far right, the center, and the leftist New Popular Front. Oddly, it recalls for me the opening of Caesar's Gallic Wars: "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres".

When I read about the 3 blocs in the paper, I too thought of Caesar. Great minds think alike.*

(Fool seldom differ?)

 

[Derec]

No, you don't understand how the French system works.

Do the French even understand it? It seems to be convoluted for the sake of being convoluted, like their spelling. "Eaux" or "ault" for an "o" sound. Why? Likewise, they have this 2 round system but it's not a real runoff since they had to persuade candidates to drop out. Just implement a proportional system like the Germanic tribes to the west of Gaul and be done with it!

The French parliament is now divided into three groups--the far right, the center, and the leftist New Popular Front.

I am aware that the Popular Front does not have the majority, but as you said, the leader of the largest block customarily gets the prime ministership.

However, Macron has already ruled out letting his party form an alliance with the New Popular Front, because he considers the France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) party in that coalition to be too radical.

They are radical, and Mélenchon is a fan of Putin. How is he an improvement over Marine Le Pen? He also thinks he should be allowed to rule by himself even without a majority, god love him.
Who Is Jean-Luc Melenchon? Far-Left Leader Defiant After French Victory

It didn’t take Jean-Luc Melenchon long to seize the moment after initial poll indications of the French legislative vote showed the leftist New Popular Front was headed to a shock victory.
Before other leaders of that alliance — which includes his own far-left France Unbowed, the Socialists and the Greens — could get a word in, Melenchon took center stage at a gathering of followers, demanding that it should be called on to govern the country. He also declared that the New Popular Front won’t entertain “combinations” and will refuse negotiations with other groups.
“The NFP will implement its program,” Melenchon told supporters Sunday. “Nothing but its program. All of its program.”

In any case, the leftist coalition wants to tear down some of the unpopular policies he has put in place.

The alliance has promised a major increase in public spending, a boost to the minimum wage and a cut in the retirement age — measures that would provoke a major clash with the European Union. The Institut Montaigne estimates that the New Popular Front’s campaign pledges would require nearly €179 billion ($194 billion) in extra funds per year.

Yes, the raising of the retirement age may have been unpopular, but it was necessary. And this election was a means to repudiate FN, it is not a mandate for NPF to implement radical change - even without a majority, which I still do not see how he may accomplish legally.

The 72-year-old fan of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro has long spooked markets and investors every time he’s come close to power.
Known for his fiery speeches, often without a teleprompter or notes and using his trademark mix of humor and anger, the Communist-backed far-left leader often regales crowds with the evils of “extreme markets that transform suffering, misery and abandonment into gold and money.” He has alluded in the past to France as a country “with huge wealth that is badly distributed.”

Are French aware of the expression "casting out Devil with Beelzebub"? Or "from the frying pan into the fire"?

So it is unlikely that the French Parliament will have a ruling coalition until the next parliamentary elections, which is a full year away. In other words, the French government will be largely hamstrung for a year. Macron's term in office lasts until 2027, and he vowed not to resign no matter how the current election turned out. Just the same, his power to implement policies will be severely weakened over the next year.

So a gridlock? Interesting. But somebody will have to be elected prime minister, even if they are not particularly effective, right? Will Mélenchon be given it or will there be a compromise caretaker, maybe some éminence grise?

 

[Derec]

Let us see how co-habitation will work.

Dramatization:

 

[jonatha]

It seems to be convoluted for the sake of being convoluted, like their spelling.

Are you, as a native English speaker, seriously criticizing another language's spelling rules???

(wiki ghoti)

 

[Swammerdami]

I expect to be laughed off the stage for my question, but here goes. Is it possible that Macron could offer some concessions to Moderates within the Far-right Extremists (oxymoron?) and entice them to accept a cabinet seat or two? Then do the same with some oxymoronic Left-wing extremists? End up with a "Centrist" regime? After all, the people voted, in effect, for Centrism.

Or, as with Britain's masochistic Brexit vote or America's gleeful embrace of fascism and dystopia, has modern democracy devolved to resemble medieval blood-letting where self-mutilation is the unspoken purpose of asking the electorate what it thinks?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

French Leftists celebrating the election win.
View attachment 46693
Palestinian flag, Moroccan flag, Antifa flag.

Tells you all you need to know.

That your obsession is blinding you to the repeat of the 20th Century with European fascism?

What happened in France was a gimmick. You are worried about Muslims and left-wingers. Had the center/left coalitions not conspired together, the party of ACTUAL FASCISM would have likely won.

Macron and the left-wing barely held off the nationalist party. Nationalism just won't die. It keeps coming back because too many people want tomorrow to be yesterday. That isn't how things work. But good luck convincing them of that.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I expect to be laughed off the stage for my question, but here goes. Is it possible that Macron could offer some concessions to Moderates within the Far-right Extremists (oxymoron?) and entice them to accept a cabinet seat or two? Then do the same with some oxymoronic Left-wing extremists? End up with a "Centrist" regime? After all, the people voted, in effect, for Centrism.

That'd be perfect if you didn't want to put together an agenda. The Left/Center is already a circus. You want to make it even broader?

Or, as with Britain's masochistic Brexit vote or America's gleeful embrace of fascism and dystopia, has modern democracy devolved to resemble medieval blood-letting where self-mutilation is the unspoken purpose of asking the electorate what it thinks?

The electorate isn't pro-active. They are easily swayed by the idiots with all the "easy" "solutions". And often, only get into action decades after the fact (see US in 2020).

To make things worse, at the moment, things are tough, and people forget that things were tough in 80s and 60s and 30s. People yearn for the ease of life that never existed. They want to return it to the comfort provided only by hindsight and forgetful memories.

 

[Copernicus]

I expect to be laughed off the stage for my question, but here goes. Is it possible that Macron could offer some concessions to Moderates within the Far-right Extremists (oxymoron?) and entice them to accept a cabinet seat or two? Then do the same with some oxymoronic Left-wing extremists? End up with a "Centrist" regime? After all, the people voted, in effect, for Centrism.

That seems to be exactly what Macron will try, according to a number of pundits that I have read. He will try to cobble together a coalition that includes elements of the New Popular Front and some center-right allies of the National Rally. It is far from clear that he will succeed, because France does not have a history of coalition-building, like many other European countries. Any new government would be vulnerable to losing a vote of confidence--much like the ability of MAGA Republicans in the House to continually threaten to vote out their Speaker. The New Popular Front should be able to have the best chance of forming a government, but it has no politically viable candidate for Prime Minister. The largest leftist party, the radical France Unbowed, is considered incapable of forming alliances. Even the Communists are considered moderate in comparison to them. So Macron will try to patch something together, but it will have little chance of lasting very long.

Or, as with Britain's masochistic Brexit vote or America's gleeful embrace of fascism and dystopia, has modern democracy devolved to resemble medieval blood-letting where self-mutilation is the unspoken purpose of asking the electorate what it thinks?

It is interesting that Labour's moderate Starmer was able to lead his party to a landslide victory in the UK after so many years of Tory government. I think that what happened in the UK and France demonstrates that the public prefers to avoid extremes on both the left and the right. What led to the defeat of Le Pen's movement was what is being called "strategic voting" in France--the choice by third-ranked candidates in the middle and on the left to drop out in favor of stronger anti-right candidates in their local districts. Many voters who ended up voting for the Popular Front were not really voting for their first choice, just for the lesser of two evils in their minds.

 

[Copernicus]

No, you don't understand how the French system works.

Do the French even understand it? It seems to be convoluted for the sake of being convoluted, like their spelling. "Eaux" or "ault" for an "o" sound. Why? Likewise, they have this 2 round system but it's not a real runoff since they had to persuade candidates to drop out. Just implement a proportional system like the Germanic tribes to the west of Gaul and be done with it!

English speakers criticizing French spelling--that's a winner. Strategic voting works in France, but it lacks a political tradition of forming viable coalition governments like some other European countries.

The French parliament is now divided into three groups--the far right, the center, and the leftist New Popular Front.

I am aware that the Popular Front does not have the majority, but as you said, the leader of the largest block customarily gets the prime ministership.

That's the problem. The Popular Front has no politically viable candidate for Prime Minister.

However, Macron has already ruled out letting his party form an alliance with the New Popular Front, because he considers the France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) party in that coalition to be too radical.

They are radical, and Mélenchon is a fan of Putin. How is he an improvement over Marine Le Pen? He also thinks he should be allowed to rule by himself even without a majority, god love him.
Who Is Jean-Luc Melenchon? Far-Left Leader Defiant After French Victory

Melenchon is reviled by much of the public and most other parties. He is not the leader of the Popular Front. It has no leader. His party just garnered the most votes within that hastily formed coalition because of the strategic voting movement.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ft-heads-for-shock-win?embedded-checkout=true

It didn’t take Jean-Luc Melenchon long to seize the moment after initial poll indications of the French legislative vote showed the leftist New Popular Front was headed to a shock victory.
Before other leaders of that alliance — which includes his own far-left France Unbowed, the Socialists and the Greens — could get a word in, Melenchon took center stage at a gathering of followers, demanding that it should be called on to govern the country. He also declared that the New Popular Front won’t entertain “combinations” and will refuse negotiations with other groups.
“The NFP will implement its program,” Melenchon told supporters Sunday. “Nothing but its program. All of its program.”

The man is totally delusional. He has no chance of doing anything other than destabilizing the French Parliament.

...

So it is unlikely that the French Parliament will have a ruling coalition until the next parliamentary elections, which is a full year away. In other words, the French government will be largely hamstrung for a year. Macron's term in office lasts until 2027, and he vowed not to resign no matter how the current election turned out. Just the same, his power to implement policies will be severely weakened over the next year.

So a gridlock? Interesting. But somebody will have to be elected prime minister, even if they are not particularly effective, right? Will Mélenchon be given it or will there be a compromise caretaker, maybe some éminence grise?

Macron will try to cobble together a shaky coalition, but it is unlikely to succeed. He may also try to form a government to technocrats that operate outside of electoral process. That has happened in countries like Italy, but it is unlikely to be very effective. I'm not sure how that would work.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

So the French, in swerving to avoid one set of extremists, fell right into the clutches of another set of extremists.

Considering the options I would go with the "far-left extremists". Especially since the other options are Nazis, who would kill me and others like me.

 

[bilby]

It is interesting that Labour's moderate Starmer was able to lead his party to a landslide victory in the UK after so many years of Tory government.

Starmer would have fitted in very well in the Conservative Party of the late 1970s and early '80s, before Thatcherism got full traction after the '83 General Election.

Many of the then Tory 'wets' were to the left of Starmer's current policies.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It is interesting that Labour's moderate Starmer was able to lead his party to a landslide victory in the UK after so many years of Tory government.

Starmer would have fitted in very well in the Conservative Party of the late 1970s and early '80s, before Thatcherism got full traction after the '83 General Election.

Many of the then Tory 'wets' were to the left of Starmer's current policies.

We've swung likewise. The conservative, "we'd don't need to sacrifice or pay for stuff" thing was and remains very popular.

 

[Derec]

Are you, as a native English speaker, seriously criticizing another language's spelling rules???

I am a native English speaker?

 

[jonatha]

Are you, as a native English speaker, seriously criticizing another language's spelling rules???

I am a native English speaker?

You certainly could pass as one, at least when writing.

In any event, you appear to know enough about English orthography to have the sense not to complain about any other.