This weekend, there is a run-off election in France. Marie LePen is challenging Emmanuel Macron. And her two major weaknesses are painfully apparent. Jennifer Rubin writes:
The weaknesses of far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen were on full display on Wednesday in her nearly three-hour debate with French President Emmanuel Macron. Two issues in particular show how difficult it is for Le Pen to be a mainstream candidate: her close ties to Russia and her disdain for religious liberty for minority groups.
Her most glaring weakness is her alliance with Vladimir Putin:
Macron was ferocious on the issue, attacking Le Pen for attempting to soften her pro-Russian tendencies. He said Le Pen’s positions today are contrary to her party’s “historical positions” and noted her refusal to condemn the annexation of Crimea in 2014. On her outstanding loan, he went for the jugular: “When you talk to Russia, you’re talking to your banker.” He added, “As soon as there are important and courageous decisions that need to be made, neither you nor your leaders are there.”
Her other glaring flaw is her position on religious freedom:
Le Pen also tripped herself up while promoting her proposal to ban Muslim women from wearing hijabs in public, falsely declaring that any woman wearing the headscarf does so against her will. Among the many problems with such an edict is that it would ban all such religious garb in public. The Times of Israel reported that “her plans to curtail religious freedoms to counteract the presence of Islam in French society would mean a ban on wearing headscarves and kippahs worn by Jews, she has acknowledged. She invited French Jews to make that ‘sacrifice’ for their country.”
Unsurprisingly, that caused a furor in the French Jewish community. The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, which lobbies the government on issues of concern to France’s small Jewish population, endorsed Macron. That move divided the Jewish community, which includes some Le Pen supporters. (She has tried to appeal to them with her virulent anti-Muslim positions.)
Le Pen has made a lot of hay by appealing to her countrymen's darker angels. On Sunday we'll know how ultimately successful she has been.
Image: nbcnews.com
20 comments:
Long past time to send the Le Pen’s, harper’s, trump’s, putin’s, assad’s, etc,etc, and their followers and promoters to some rocky island where they can be by themselves and not be bothered by the rest of us. I am tired of the constant whining and whinging of what someone else is doing, looking like, praying to, imbibing in, costing us, going to or coming from and on and on. Most of us, the majority are truly in this together. We are sick of the very small minority who want the world in their sick and twisted image.
We all want to live our little lives, raise our families, work a decent job for decent pay, have the occasional holiday and see whoever we want when we want(unless we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic). We want this without fear, with good health and a good environment and a future where we thrive not just survive.
For Dogs sake can’t we be rid of these drags on all of our societies? I long for all of us, the entire world, to move together into a better, more prosperous future. One that has us beyond the reach of this pettiness and has everyone, no matter what, enjoying their one time visit in this world, this life.
Wow! In her defence one could say “never trust a woman who wants to be blond and cannot hide it”. Anyong
My hunch is that the majority of us feel as you do, Graham. Unfortunately, hatemongers get a lot of press.
What's frustrating, Anyong, is that she's not hiding her views -- and a large number of people are buying them.
What we think here, about the French election, doesn't matter. (Why did our PM just take Macron's side?)
Just like what we think here about tRump etc doesn't matter.
Maybe what we think about politicians in Canada, matters - but only a little bit, when the card deck is stacked with the Jr. Trudeau and Lil'PP types.
So, knowing I don't have to live in their countries and suffer the domestic effects of their policies, I can favour figures that, imo, make nuclear war less likely.
I like Le Pen's position on NATO.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/04/19/if-we-dont-want-nuclear-war-why-are-we-pushing-for-one/
As Quebec has found out, policing religious clothing affects more than the targeted group. These measures will almost inevitably run afoul of constitutional freedom of conscience provisions. The trouble is that a lot of time and money is wasted before the high court gives a final ruling on the matter. But the parties of "tradition and fiscal responsibility" don't much care about that as long as it riles up the orcs and trolls in their base.
Cap
If you take a good look at her father, PoV -- who founded her party -- you might reconsider.
It's all about pandering to the crazies, Cap. They make a lot of noise these days.
This makes the argument for marathon debates. The crazies can duck and weave for an hour but eventually they'll trip themselves up. The longer they talk the harder it is for them to conceal shallowness, illogic and hypocrisy.
That's precisely why the Republicans have pulled out of presidential debates, Mound.
A win by LePen would not be good for Europe or the rest of us. Her close "relationship" with Putin/Russia could well become a security issue, especially given the war in Ukraine.
We don't need another "hater" leading a country in this world.
LePen's father, who founded the party, was a "piece of work". When she removed him as leader of the party she tried to tone down the hate, but its still there. Toning it down was simply a way to gain more votes and not appear so racist. Right now her target is those of the Muslim faith, but as we have seen people like here move on to other groups later. She wants to return France to a white, Catholic country. she doesn't understand that boat sailed a long time ago. No country is going back to "their good old days" which were really terrible and violated all sorts of human rights.
People like LePen who promote hate for specific groups of people usually turn on every one in the end. Voters in France need to be very careful.
Indeed they will e.a.f. They should know by now who they're dealing with.
The Jewish population of France was actually very big with going on for 600,000 people. But that has changed over the last decade and not always due to the Le Pens. What was a wonderful home became a place of terrorism and fear.
Both of my parents came "of age" as was the term and both of them always referred to the 1930's as the "dirty thirties" and protested that they don't remember those as the "good old days" one bit. My grandparents, both maternal and paternal, were rabid Con voters whereas neither of their children (my Mum and Dad) ever did. All discussions at the dinner table that involved politics ended with the same advice "just remember: Tory times are hard times".
Definitely want to keep doing more of the same nation-wrecking, global empire-building with Macron, because it's all going so swimmingly over there (and here).
Heaven forbid that a French person should dare to care about the interests of France first.
Blame Putin or Trump--that ought to do the trick.
Writing's on the wallZ
Unfortunately, hels, that's quite true.
That has been our experience, too, Lulymay.
The problem these days, Zaria, is that politicians don't put the interests of their nation first. They assume -- with Louis XIV -- that "L'etat c'est moi!"
The family names need to be carefully typed:
Jean-Marie Le Pen is the head of the family
Marie-Caroline Le Pen is his daughter, not referred to in your post
Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen is another daughter, as in your post
Marion Le Pen is his granddaughter.
What a confusing family
Thanks for the clarification, hels. Lots of "Maries" -- or variations -- there.
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