And now a French General election too (2024)

[pbsmooth]

He's not just not from the winning party! He's from a party that used to be big but got annihilated at the election and is a very very long way away politically from the largest block, which won one third of the seats.

You could argue that’s one small positive spin they could put on it… It was a hung parliament, so they chose someone in between the two largest blocks - the left and RN. But clearly it’s appeasing Le Pen and the right-wing voters. Presumably he thinks it might win him some of those votes.

 

[The39thStep]

A pen picture of someone who is in between the left and the fascists. In running to be the Presidential candidate for the Republican Party in 2021 stood on a platform of France stopping all immigration for 3 to 5 years, and repeatedly voted against decriminalising homosexuality. Horrible right winger whose anointment was based on implementing Macrons 'reforms'.

New French PM vows to toughen stance on immigration, hints at tilt to right

Conservative Michel Barnier promises to uphold some of Macron’s policies while tackling a divided parliament.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[littlebabyjesus]

You could argue that’s one small positive spin they could put on it… It was a hung parliament, so they chose someone in between the two largest blocks - the left and RN. But clearly it’s appeasing Le Pen and the right-wing voters. Presumably he thinks it might win him some of those votes.

Macron's shower style themselves as centrists. So by Macron's own reasoning, the new PM is to the right of more than half of the parliament.

 

[gentlegreen]

 

[pbsmooth]

Macron's shower style themselves as centrists. So by Macron's own reasoning, the new PM is to the right of more than half of the parliament.

sure, well it was going to be one way or the other obviously…

 

[littlebabyjesus]

sure, well it was going to be one way or the other obviously…

Point is that the so-called centrists would rather rely on the support of the far right than make an accommodation of any kind with the left. Macron is determined to push through his cuts and won't let democracy stop him.

The repeated comparison of melenchon as a mirror image of le pen says it all really.

 

[yield]

Emmanuel Macron's coup is a shameless affront to democracy
Telegraph. 6 September 2024 https://archive.ph/i05ui

For the first time, the “barrage républicain” has favoured the Left. Yet, Macron has been more willing to negotiate with Marine Le Pen than with the Left-wing coalition (and therefore honouring the “republican dam” he once so defended). Marine Le Pen has become the de facto umpire to naming France’s newest prime minister.

Democracy is an imperfect game, with imperfect rules. But it’s one the citizens of France have been playing for a long time – and this particular set of rules has been in place since 1958. They shouldn’t be overturned to favour Macron’s or Le Pen’s political agendas.

Whether one agrees with the platform the Left was running isn’t the point here: an election was called, voters showed up to polling stations in the biggest turn-out since the 90s, and a party came first. They should be the prime negotiating party, and they should be represented in Government. Instead, they’re cast as the opposition and asked about their shadow cabinet.

That’s not playing the democratic game. That’s disrespecting the vote of French citizens and the campaign that was waged.

The French phrase for calling a spade a spade is to call a cat a cat. Maybe it’s time to update le dictionnaire and call a coup a coup.

When you've lost the staid british reactionaries.