France chooses Macron over ‘high priestess of fear’
The French roundly rejected the isolationism and fear-mongering of populist French candidate Marine Le Pen in the presidential election Sunday, reembracing the European Union, the continent’s decades-old experiment in economic union, stability and peace borne out of the ashes of World War II.
For an America that engaged in two costly wars in the past century spawned by a divided Europe, that’s good news.
Centrist former economy minister Emmanuel Macron appeared to be on his way to an easy victory over Le Pen after voters overwhelmingly endorsed his promise of economic reform and a renewed commitment to making France competitive in the global economy.
Le Pen, in contrast, had promised a Brexit-like referendum aimed at pulling France out of the EU and rejection of the euro. France was a founding EU member and, as the world’s sixth largest economy, its abandonment of the EU could have spelled doom for the 50-year-old institution.
The election was also the latest reckoning for an anti-immigrant fervor that has animated voters across Europe and America. In a debate with Le Pen last week, Macron called her “the high priestess of fear.” Similar angst over globalization and the influx of “outsiders” was the driving force behind Britain’s vote last year to leave the EU and President Trump’s surprise victory in November. But Sunday’s results — after the narrow defeat of the far right in Austria’s presidential election in December and a more resounding rejection of a rightwing populist in the Dutch elections in March — hold out hope that a populist insurgency is receeding from a high-water mark.
With victory in the presidential contest, Macron’s struggle has only just started. He now leads a nation burdened with 10% unemployment — 25% among youth — caused as much by a cumbersome social welfare system and overregulated labor markets as by cutthroat international competition. And while the messenger of French populism has suffered a defeat, the underlying concerns about globalization and Muslim immigration remain potent.
Voters made history during the initial round of voting by rejecting France’s established political parties and have now made history again coming together behind a 39-year-old independent who has never held elected office.
The former investment banker’s first big test will come in parliamentary elections in June. Macron and his new party, En
March! or Onward!, face the daunting task of beating out the established Socialist and Republican parties to secure a majority of parliament’s 577 seats. Without that, Macron risks a prime minister chosen from one of those two opposing parties and a divided government, which could leave him hamstrung as president.
Macron’s embrace of free trade and a common currency for Europe are what Americans need to hear. The EU, after all, is the United States’ largest trading partner. Macron also has a healthy skepticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was embraced by Le Pen.
When Macron takes office next week, he will be modern France’s youngest president. He faces stiff challenges immediately, but offers a far brighter alternative to the dark world of divisiveness and fear propagated by his now-vanquished opponent.