Monday 8th May

So, in the end it wasn’t even a close-run thing – it was a walkover.  Emanuel Macron has won the French Presidential Election decisively.  And more important than that he has beaten prejudice, and racism and stopped the tide of nationalism dead in it’s tracks.  Marine Le Pen is charismatic, a good speaker, dynamic and powerful.  And her message was clear – “France for the French”.  But just as the question ‘Who are the British’ or more precisely ‘Who are the English’, stumbles on the reality of our multicultural society, the French, although I would say are more cohesive around their culture, it is still difficult to decide exactly who the French are.

Here in the South West there is a strong Spanish influence, and over to the South East it is Italian, whereas in Alsace-Lorraine even the town names are very German. The most remarkable thing about Macron’s victory is that he has come from nowhere, without even a party, without having really ever experienced public office.  Only a year ago he declared himself and his new movement ‘En Marche’.  And yes, in a way he was a continuity candidate, he was not from either the Socialists or the Republicans.  In fact the Socialists were all but wiped out in the first round and the party of De Gaulle and Sarkozy limped in third with barely twenty percent.  Are we in fact seeing the end of the party system?  In America Trump, though he campaigned as a Republican was hated by them, and they threw everything to try to stop him.  Here the Tories are only riding high because of UKIP who forced Brexit onto the agenda, and UKIP came from almost nowhere too.  Labour are deep in trouble, and it is possible that if they lose badly but Jeremy somehow manages to stay on as Leader, a new party of the left may emerge.

But at least we can now breathe a sigh of relief that the far-right has been roundly defeated her in France.  We will have to wait and see just what Macron will do, but whatever must be better than the anti-muslim, anti EU Front National.