What’s going on with France?, by Dario Pio Muccilli

As President Macron surprisingly called a snap legislative election in the aftermath of his loss to the far right in the June 9th EU elections, France is today close to having its first far-right Prime Minister: Jordan Bardella, the rising star of Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN). By the time of this writing, France has already held the first voting round, which gave RN an astonishing 33% of the ballots. Now, on July 7th all the constituencies where no candidate had the absolute majority of the ballots will see a second round. According to French electoral law, the admitted candidates to the second stage are not just the two biggest vote getters, but each candidate who got votes from at least 12.5% . This means that in many constituencies there are three candidates from the three main parties, the RN, Macron’s Ensemble (Together) and the leftist alliance Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front).  (Editors Note – July 7 turned out to be a surprise turnaround).

The debate today is whether the latter two form an alliance or single agreements to withdraw candidates in constituencies where one of them is more likely to defeat the far-right. The Star Revue spoke to Lucas Moulène, 27, PhD student in history and member of the Isère region Federal Council of the Socialist Party, which is a major stakeholder in the Nouveau Front Populaire alliance.

What is the atmosphere today around these elections for people you know? Fear?

Generally, coming from a republican family, everyone close to me is very afraid of the arrival in power of a party that rejects everything that has made France great in the world, namely the invention of modern democracy, the Enlightenment and Human Rights. Some binationals I know, or foreigners, are afraid of having to leave the country. Personally, given my political and professional commitments, I’m almost physically worried.

What is the importance of this second round?

Decisive. It’s a referendum for or against the Republic, which in France means for or against democracy. In the event of a far-right victory, it would potentially spell the end of the EU. Finally, it would be the worst symbol of all for democrats, for whom France, despite its lesser importance in the world today than in the past, remains a model for human rights.

Is it possible for the Nouveau Front Populaire to form an alliance with Macron?

If by alliance we mean a coalition with a common program, I don’t think that’s very likely. Moreover, it wouldn’t be so much with Macron as with what’s left of his majority. Macron is discredited everywhere, including among his own troops, as shown by the differences between the voting instructions in his center-right coalition. As for the withdrawal agreements, the majority seem to be on the right track, even if many on the right refuse to unite against the reactionaries. On the other hand, a left-wing minority government seems possible, though far from likely.

Would you define the RN a threat? Why are they so popular among voters?

The RN threat represents the return, updated for the 21st century, of the worst that France and the world have produced. It’s not the fascism of the 30s and 40s that’s coming back, but its epigones. From the outset, everything about the RN stinks of anti-republicanism, racism and anti-Semitism. Remember that its founders include members of the Vichy movement, a “French” Waffen-SS who defended Hitler’s bunker, and members of the OAS (ed, Terrorist movement against decolonization of Algeria in the 50s-60s). The original founder Jean-Marie Le Pen and Marine’s father, repeatedly convicted of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, is the most paradigmatic example. Journalists even asked Jordan Bardella whether JMLP was anti-Semitic a few weeks ago, and the PM candidate replied that he was not. When you scratch the surface, you see that the RN has not changed. Nearly 50 legislative candidates had already been convicted of all kinds of violence, racism, homophobia and Holocaust denial.

What would you do if they win?

It’s a good question, because I’m a public servant at university, where I have freedom of speech. I will keep teaching my students without expressing my political views, but in all my research and party activities I will do everything to defy them. We are discussing creating local associations where it will be possible to start a new leftist thought, which has suffered in the last decades.

As public servants we are obliged to save the honor and the interests of the Republic, so I will resist.