The politics of fear
Candidates talk tough as presidential election begins The fatal attack on the Champs-Elysees has pushed national security to the fore as France goes to the polls, but unemployment and the trustworthiness of politicians are still the major issues for voter
The killing of a policeman by a suspected Islamist militant in Paris has pushed national security to the top of the French political agenda for the presidential election.
With the first round of voting in the two-stage election starting today, far-right nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen has promised tougher immigration and border controls to beat ‘‘Islamist terrorism’’ if elected.
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, who narrowly leads a tight race ahead of Le Pen, said the solutions were not as simple as she suggested, and that there was ‘‘no such thing as zero risk’’.
Anyone who said otherwise was irresponsible, said Macron, a former economy minister in the government that Le Pen has repeatedly criticised for its security record.
There are four leading candidates in a race that is still too close to call. Today’s voting will be followed by a runoff on May 7 between the top two candidates.
The first poll conducted entirely after Thursday’s attack suggested Le Pen had gained some ground on Macron. While he was still seen winning the first round with 24.5 per cent, his score slipped half a percentage point while Le Pen’s rose by one to 23 per cent.
Conservative Francois Fillon, a former prime minister, and the far left’s Jean-Luc Melenchon were both down half a percentage point on 19 per cent in the poll for the newspaper Le Point.
The attack on the ChampsElysees boulevard in the very heart of the capital has added a new source of unpredictability to an election that will decide the management of France’s economy, which vies with Britain for the rank of fifth-largest in the world.
United States President Donald Trump said yesterday he thought the attack would ‘‘probably help’’ Le Pen, because she was the candidate who was ‘‘strongest on borders, and she’s the strongest on what’s been going on in France’’.
The outcome could also have a bearing on France’s place in the world and in a European Union still reeling from Britain’s decision to leave. While Macron is ardently pro-EU, Le Pen wants to quit its single currency and potentially hold a referendum on leaving the bloc.
All the candidates are seeking to woo the huge number of undecided voters – some 31 per cent of those likely to vote, according to an Ipsos poll.
Fillon also seized on the attack, which was claimed by the militant group Islamic State, saying the It falls to us not to give in to fear and intimidation and manipulation, which would play into the hands of the enemy. Bernard Cazeneuve fight against ‘‘Islamist totalitarianism’’ should be the priority of the next president. ‘‘It’s us or them,’’ he said.
The Champs-Elysees shooting was the latest in a series of attacks by Islamist militants on France since 2015, in which more than 200 people have been killed.
A truck ploughed into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice last year, killing more than 80, while coordinated attacks on the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris claimed about 130 lives in November 2015. There have also been attacks on a satirical weekly and a kosher store.
However, previous attacks that have taken place shortly before elections, including the November 2015 attacks in Paris ahead of regional polls, and a shooting in a Jewish school before the 2012 presidential vote, did not appear to boost the scores of those espousing tougher national security.
An assault on a soldier in February at Paris’s Louvre museum by a man wielding a machete also had no obvious impact on this year’s opinion polls, which have consistently said that voters see unemployment and the the trustworthiness of politicians as bigger issues.
Investigators were trying to assess whether the ChanpsElysees gunman had accomplices, anti-terrorism prosecutor Francois Molins said yesterday, adding that the shooter had never shown any signs of radicalisation despite a long police history.
After an emergency meeting of security officials, Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said security forces, including elite units, were on alert to back up the 50,000 police earmarked to ensure safety during the election.
‘‘The government is fully mobilised. Nothing must be allowed to impede the fundamental democratic process of our country,’’ Cazeneuve said. ‘‘It falls to us not to give in to fear and intimidation and manipulation, which would play into the hands of the enemy.’’
Controls on immigration and national security are the cornerstones of Le Pen’s National Front agenda. Yesterday she said she would reinstate border checks and expel foreigners who are on intelligence services’ watch lists.
Macron was quick to respond. ‘‘I’ve heard Madame Le Pen saying again recently that, with her in charge, certain attacks would have been avoided,’’ he told RTL Radio. ‘‘There’s no such thing as zero risk. Anyone who pretends (otherwise) is both irresponsible and deceitful.’’
Should both Macron and Le Pen make it to the second round, he is likely to win the runoff by 65 per cent to 35 per cent, according to a poll for BFM TV and L’Express magazine.
Fillon has slowly clawed back some ground lost after a fake jobs scandal. Melenchon, who would hike taxes on the rich and spend €100 billion of borrowed money on vast house building and renewable energy projects, has built further on the momentum he has generated with strong performances in television debates. If he makes it to the runoff, he is projected by the polls to beat either Le Pen or Fillon by comfortable margins, although he is seen losing to Macron.