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| Regional lead by party: black = FN, blue = LR, fuchsia = PS |
The fascist party National Front, led by Marine Le Pen, has obtained around 30% of the vote in the first round of the regional elections, leading the tally in eight of the thirteen European regions of the French Republic (data from the four regions of America and Africa is still not available).
The second best performing party was the conservative The Republicans of corrupt and authoritarian former President Sarkozy with around 27% of the vote, while the ruling Socialists (social-liberals) came third with roughly 23%. The divided real left parties (Front de Gauche, Greens) may have obtained together around 10-15% of the vote, a bit more if the much weaker Communist Party and Worker Struggle would be included.
The participation was very low, barely 40% in the departament encompassing the Northern Basque Country and Bearn, for example.
Corsica: nationalists perform well
The nationalist list Femu a Corsica came second in the Mediterranean colony, with more than 17% of the vote, while the regionalist Rassembler pour la Corse came third with 13% of the vote, ahead of Sarkozy's LR (12%). Corsica Libera got some 8%. Unlike in the mainland, the fascists performed badly in the country of Pasquale Paoli, with a mere 9%.
In the Brittany region (smaller than historical Brittany), the regionalist list Yes Brittany gathered 8%.
Very worrisome
While indeed that one of every four French citizens, at least, is voting fascist is most worrying, I'm even more worried, if that is possible, about the return of Sarkozy (most likely indirect outcome) and the rightist drift of the PS, which has imposed a permanent state of emergency in the Hexagon. An outright victory of Le Pen would just be the logical outcome of such reactionary evolution across the whole of society, and it would not be significantly different from the autocratic rule of Sarkozy or Valls. France is clearly going down the drain of authoritarianism and that's very bad, for the French of course but also for all the rest of Europe.
It's worrisome, but not as much as the first round results would suggest. France's politics are more about blocs. The FN was the largest party, but their far-right bloc was a close third. Only Provence, Calais and possible the Alsace seem to be in danger for the run-off, and the centre-left is withdrawing its candidates to try to prevent that.
ReplyDeleteThat's the real danger I guess though - Sarkozy wins the next Presidential election by default by virtue of facing the FN in the run-off.
What's the real difference between Le Pen, Sarkozy and Valls? I would not vote for either of them, really. And that's exactly what many people may think north of the Adour: why bother voting when the three options are identical?
DeleteAlso Sarkozy is not the much more charming Chirac, nor Le Pen Jr. has such a horrible image as her father (she has worked hard to project herself and her party in a more "moderate" light), so I can imagine a runoff Sarkozy vs Le Pen in which left-leaning voters don't bother voting (a few may even vote Le Pen because at least she's anti-EU and pro-Russia). I mean: what can be worse than Sarkozy again? Even Le Pen looks comparatively "better", so to say. Would I not be a radical communist with way too clear ideas, would I be a centrist voter... I could consider it that way.
The real problem is that the PS and the conservatives are all so much leaning to the extreme right that the extreme right appears almost progressive by comparison. Is a bit how Putin has become a cheered global leader: he's a quasi-fascist but he's serious, a statesman that can earn your respect in spite of ideological differences, and not the fake-smiling apes that run for the white house, all them at the service of the same shadowy corporate powers, be it the devious Clinton or the grotesque Trump.
Actually: "Vlad x Marine", Russian media cheer Le Pen all they can.
And that's how EU and NATO end. And the German oligarchs won't even blink, rather applaud, anything but the ongoing US destructive policies.
But what you say is what Sarko has in mind, a first test will come this Sunday.