Macron offers French hope instead of hate

Politics in France has been turned on its head. Now voters need to reflect on the values of their nation

The reverberations from the first round of polling in the French presidential elections will sound alarm bells in the two mainstream political parties there. For the first time since the end of the Second World War and the era of the Fifth Republic, neither Socialists nor Republican party will have a candidate running in the final round in the race to the Elysee Palace. Instead, come May 7, political newcomer Emmanuel Macron will face off against far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen after French voters ripped up the political playbook and opted for two non-traditional candidates.

The choice for voters when they cast ballots again a week on Sunday could not be clearer — a difference between hope and hate, revitalisation or rejection, inclusion or exclusion.

Le Pen peddles a programme of French nationalism, where ‘Vive la France’ means living in a country where the traditional values of liberty, equality and brotherhood only apply if you’re French, nonMuslim and believe that the state has a right to discriminate based on birth and belief.

Macron is young, vibrant and believes that there is a new way forward for his nation, one that sees a future in the values of the European Union, where wealth is redistributed based on work and values, and where entrepreneurialism profits while the state looks after the less fortunate.

The message from French voters is that they are fed up with the status quo offered by political players who read from a similar script. These are times of political upheaval, where accepted wisdom is overturned by the need for something different. That is the case now in France too for different — or different and dangerous.