The far right’s brightest star is fighting for his political life after being accused of antisemitic remarks. And economic indicators are flashing bright red to warn of a potential sovereign debt disaster in the country. The crises that have rocked France in recent days are exacerbating partisan cleavages in the country’s increasingly no-holds-barred presidential campaign.
In the words of one government adviser: “It’s the maxi merde.” Though that individual, who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the current situation, was only referring to the increasingly violent demonstrations outside secondary schools and the government’s slow-footed response to them, it’s a sentiment likely shared by French voters after a week of particularly bleak headlines. If there are political winners, it’s not immediately clear who they are. Establishment candidates and moderate voices are still struggling to seize the narrative from far-right presidential front-runner Marine Le Pen and her surging far-left challenger Jean-Luc Mélenchon — both of whom want to fundamentally reshape France and its relationship with Europe.
A survey by pollster Odoxa this week found that the French disapprove of the government’s handling of the student school protests, but they also disapprove of Mélenchon and his far-left party France Unbowed’s involvement. Mélenchon and his allies have supported the demonstrators and joined them outside schools, saying they were there to show support and protect minors from confrontations with police. But the government and France Unbowed’s political opponents accuse them of fanning the flames of violence — allegations they deny.
Whatever the case, the week’s crises are showing just how nasty the campaign can get with two populist candidates unafraid to stoke partisan divisions leading the polls. The French government has tried to get a grip on the unravelling protests, holding a crisis meeting Thursday and meeting youth representatives on Friday. Le Pen, however, blamed agitators for stirring up violence at the protests and accused France Unbowed of “giving a helping hand” to “agents of chaos and insurrection.” For her National Rally party, the crisis is a useful opportunity to try to convince voters that her party is the best choice for those concerned with public safety.
But the unrest is also a useful distraction for Le Pen as her party president and heir apparent, Jordan Bardella, tries to bat down allegations published Monday by investigative outlet Mediapart that he sent antisemitic messages on Facebook Messenger when he was a 17-year-old activist. Bardella vehemently denied the allegations and vowed to sue Mediapart, but the website on Thursday published another story outlining how it verified the claims, which included screenshots and conversation data downloaded directly from Meta with the help of their sources. Bardella was tipped to become Le Pen’s prime minister if she came to power, but his future appears to hang on a thread.
It’s Marine’s decision,” said a National Rally elected representative. All of this comes just hours after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s minority government introduced a 2027 budget with €43 billion worth of savings designed to reassure markets fretting about France’s massive debt and a stubbornly high budget deficit. But without a parliamentary majority, getting lawmakers to agree to painful cuts will be tough, even if the specter of a potential financial crisis is starting to loom large.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
