A few thoughts on the French election

Politics
#1

decided to read a little today about the election in france. polls of course have macron ahead. in looking at it i took a look at the guy who came in 3rd. a communist turned socialist (not much of a turn). one would think being on the left, his voters would naturally gravitate to macron and away from le pen. they likely will… but is this because of policies and philosophy, or because of labels? the biggest difference i can see in many of their (le pen and melenchon) positions is in the words they use to describe them or explain them while they ultimately hold the exact same position. the difference in their constituencies seems more a matter of age than policy. le pen’s voters tend to be older while melenchon’s rend to be younger. the only major policy difference seems to be the green agenda of the left and possibly immigration.

they are both soft on putin and hard on nato
niether would send arms to ukraine
they both appeal to the poor and oppose “elites”
niether is fond of the eu
niether is particularly happy with the us

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220407-jean-luc-mélenchon-the-veteran-leftist-standing-in-way-of-macron-le-pen-rematch

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#2

Exit polls show Marcon should win.

Thank god.

Although 42% of France voting for a far right populist is deeply worrying.

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#3

macron is no better. frankly, all of their politicians suck

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#4

She is a genuine neo-facsist.

She want to ban circumcision, for example.

#5

and macron is an elitist moron, not good either way

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#6

Mail in ballots have been banned in France since 1975 for fear they could rig elections.

Interesting.

I think Le penne will pull the upset fueled by NATO and Ukraine comaderie.

#7

if melenchon’s voters vote on positions, yes
if they vote on labels, no

i believe they won’t get passed the label

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#8

^ Posted an hour after she had lost :rofl:

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#9

If the right would get their ■■■■ together in France and run someone not named LePen they could probably have easily won. Whether fair or unfair the name LePen is tarnished in France and a significant portion isn’t going to vote for a LePen, they will always be tied to their fathers past words.

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#10

Boom!!

#11

Oh well.

Euro folk are tough to predict.

Nobody thought Kiev would still be standing.

#12

A complaint the EU has against Hungary is what the EU considers Hungary’s excessive use of mail in ballots. They believe this makes elections more susceptible to fraud.

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#13

Not any worse than the minority of who voted for Trump.

Allan

#14

It not. However Kyiv is.

Allan

#15

I wonder what percentage of the Melenchon voters decided to not cast a vote. I think of it as somewhat akin to the Bernie Sanders voters who wouldnt vote for Hillary. Of course look what that got us. Thankfully Macron could still win easily without those abstentions.

#16

probably quite a few, and judging from the apparent size of macrons victory they obviously voted the label, not the policy positions.

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#17

Is Macroni married to a man?

#18

Sounds like business as usual in France.

Their politics have always been insane. The country is always two steps away from a full blown mass riot.

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#19

Orban has rigged the elections, in various ways. Republicans are trying to many of the same things.

There are more than 456,000 voters eligible for mail-in ballots, according to Election Office data, representing about 5% of the total. In the last general election in 2018, Orban’s Fidesz party won 96% of mail-in ballots, compared with 49% of the overall vote.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-31/hungary-opposition-decries-mail-in-ballots-as-burnt-stash-found

#20

And Democrats won overwhelmingly in mail in ballots in the 2020 election. Yes, I see your connection.

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