While France celebrates the defeat of the “far Right”, less well-reported is the extraordinary victory of the far Left (the actual far Left – it includes Marxists and Trotskyists and is violent and antisemitic) after it won the highest number of seats. This ascendancy of radical Leftism poses a real threat to the French economy and the survival of the European single currency, says Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph. Here’s an excerpt.
Compared to the U.K.’s election, France’s was certainly a shock. With the final votes tallied, Le Pen’s NR and its allies won only 143 seats in the new Parliament, President Macron’s Ensemble secured 168, and the New Popular Front won 182. Although the NR won 37% of the votes, far more than any other party, tactical voting in a two-round system meant it was locked out of power. Here’s the problem, however. Blocking Le Pen also meant handing a huge increase in power to a New Popular Front dominated by Jean-Luc Melenchon’s France Unbowed. And ironically, it is even more extreme than the NR.
In reality, the Popular Front’s manifesto makes Jeremy Corbyn look like a moderate. It promised 150 billion euros in extra public spending, increasing public sector salaries by 10% immediately, making transport free and lowering the retirement age back to 62, with longer term plans to hire more teachers and healthcare workers and invest more in green energy. It would pay for all of that with higher corporate taxes, with a wealth tax and by borrowing more money.
The NR had plenty of plans for spending more money too, and had nothing to say on liberalising the economy or restoring its competitiveness, but the Popular Front is far more radical. Indeed, an analysis by Bloomberg showed debt as a percentage of GDP rising to almost 130% by 2027 under the Popular Front, compared with 120% for the NR, and 110% under Macron’s outgoing Government.
That is not all. A far-Left administration in Paris is far less likely to accept the discipline of the bond markets and the credit rating agencies than the Right. As bonds started to sell off in anticipation of an NR Government, the party started to water down its plans, and showed signs of accepting fiscal constraints. By contrast, the Left doubled down on extra spending.
The problem is that French voters “have become addicted to vast and rising levels of Government spending”, with nearly 80% voting for a big increase in the deficit. This “is not sustainable within a single currency”, says Lynn.
Worth reading in full.
France, it seems, has become so fixated on keeping out the phantom of the “far Right” – even though National Rally no longer has any policies that could be so described and really is just focused on the very popular policy of immigration control – that the country ran straight into the arms of actually dangerous extreme Leftists with a genuine penchant for antisemitism. A far Left which loves to riot when it doesn’t get its way, and even when it does. This is not a healthy democracy by any measure.
Stop Press: France’s sovereign debt rating is at risk as it faces an “unprecedented situation” over its public finances, the agency Moody’s has warned.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
Marxism and Communism. The French State already owns over half of GDP, itself a non-sensical measure of economic output. So not a surprise that the State will continue to grow with the election of the Communist clowns. The end goal is the eradication of traditional France.
If these half wits bring down the zEuro zone as they debauch what is left of classical France that will be good news. At least when the Muzzies and Africans take over France it will be in a weak and parlous state – probably unable to fight the endless WW3 or engage in US overseas tyranny. The only thing left for the foreigners to do is to pillage and destroy whatever exists of classical French civilisation.
France’s future is its men’s football team – almost entirely Black and half of them are Musulman. All hail diversity and its end result – obliteration.
So now the fascists are going to put Le Pen in jail https://www.rt.com/news/600691-paris-prosecutors-le-pen-probe/
“France, it seems, has become so fixated on keeping out the phantom of the “far Right” – even though National Rally no longer has any policies that could be so described and really is just focused on the very popular policy of immigration control”
So popular that a majority of those who voted chose to support parties that don’t want to control immigration properly, when they had the chance to vote for one that does – in fact it’s likely that a lot of those who voted against RN did exactly that – it was a vote against RN and not FOR whoever they voted for.
It would appear to be the norm for Western politics for people to vote against something rather than for it, or even just to walk away from voting in absolute disgust.
In UK it wasn’t a vote for Labour but against the Tories, in France we see the same pattern and in the up-coming US election for many it is anything but Trump.
I really hope Trump wins, though, as it would introduce a refreshing touch of positivity into Western politics.
I too hope Trump wins.
In the UK people vote against the Tories, yes – for parties who seem to want open borders, nut zero and woke socialism.
I’m not sure about my area but there was large support for Lib Dems. Do they really think the Dems will support opposition to building on Green Belt when you consider they are signed up to Agenda 2030 hook line & sinker.
I will have no sympathy when people who voted for all of this start to moan!
Only relatively. The LDs got 177,220 votes fewer than in 2019.
Powys has Lib Dem now I’m told.
Likewise our area. Previously a ‘safe’ blue seat.
I hope the Proud Boys will be watching the Ballots carefully, the Mules.
Have western societies devolved into petulant children who break their own toys in front of mummy and daddy just to show how cross they are?
70 years of infantilisation will probably do that to a population.
It baffles me but I guess we’re all different. It’s very sad.
It depends what you mean by healthy.
If a healthy democracy is one in which the policies represent the will of the majority, then France seems very healthy. A big majority want the government to spend more money it doesn’t have and that’s what they will get, unless the EU blocks it, which would ironically be highly undemocratic and true to form for the EU.
If on the other hand unhealthy means the majority wants things that aren’t good for the good of society, well then point me to the country that does. I only see populations addicted to state handouts and government intervention into all aspects of our life.
Those people fail to understand that the money has to come from somewhere and simply printing more is not sustainable. In the end they will all be paying.
Those people are the vast majority.
We’re so screwed…
Good. There’s nothing like a good crash and burn to focus people’s minds. France has teetered on the brink for years, propped up by the EU.
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” Mencken
French government today: “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche! (And we’ll pay.)”
UK government today: “Let them eat insects! (And you’ll pay.)”
Both policies will cost their respective citizenry a trillion.
Both policies will cost their respective governments’ lives.
Could you post any links? Thanks
“And ironically, it is even more extreme than the NR”
Yes very extreme to want to control your boarders and preserve the French identity.
No. The EU will simply change the definition behind some of the fiscal regulations and show that actually France has heroically observed the rules at great inconvenience to itself to help develop the glorious European Project.
My friend wants back in the EU. He cannot understand anyone who says there isn’t really a climate crisis, and he agrees with “Hate Crime” legislation because he says “Well you should not be allowed to go around calling people fat”. ————–I said to my friend “What TV news do you watch”? ——He said “The BBC, why”?
—–People are being manipulated by mainstream media into believing a whole lot of stuff is what they should really want. So convinced of their righteousness that when you question any of their beliefs they look at you like you are from Mars and consider you a “conspiracy theorist”