France’s new president and the responsibility of freedom

French people decided to fight hate and xenophobia by electing the country’s youngest President. It is his job now to fight for freedom and compassion in Europe and be an example to the world.

France’s Presidential election was one of a kind, allowing a far-right presidential candidate to compete against a centrist presidential candidate in an election that was held in a second round, after the first round saw no candidate to reach the majority of the valid votes. Macron won by far while supporting immigration, the European Union, LGBT rights and free trade, all the opposite as Le Pen, who vowed for way more conservative values.

Le Pen did a great job campaigning for her conservative values, and this frightened many people.  Even Barack Obama and almost all the candidates that didn’t make it through the first round of the Presidential election endorsed Macron. This time, the polls were right. Macron won the election, and by far. While he earned the 65.8% of the votes, his opponent, Le Pen, earned 34.2%. Also, 25.3% of the voters decided to speak up their discontent through abstentionism and the overall turnout was the lowest in a long time. Abstentionism had never been so high in the country, showing how unhappy the population is.  But what were the reasons that took Macron to win and what are the main responsibilities that the new French President will face now?

One of the things that helped him was the fact that two of the favorite candidates at the beginning of the presidential race saw their candidacies suddenly falling apart. François Fillon, for example, was practically out of the race after a huge scandal. Benoît Hamon, on the other hand, was suddenly abandoned by the members of his party that were supposed to support him. For Macron, making his own political party was a fundamental and strategical win. The polls showed that the French people were not happy with the current state of the political parties in the country, and Macron was wise enough to make his own political movement in an attempt to get away from what people already knew and were not happy about.

There was also a very important element that played a vital role in the result of this election. It was the fact that Le Pen resembled too much the Trump values. Many people in France, in Europe, and in the world feared that Le Pen would be an exact copy of the far-right populist (now) President of the United States, given her well known political discourse rejecting free trade, globalization, the LGBT community, the European Union and a hate discourse against Islam and immigration. French people were able to see what Trump promised and what are the policies he is carrying on at the moment. Even though Le Pen saw the opportunity to emphasize the recent terrorist attacks perpetrated on French soil, the population was wise enough to think beyond fear, and they were capable to recognize the dangers of having a far-right President. They still had the opportunity to elude that to happen to them. They did it, and the world thanks them.

Emmanuel Macron promised and now has the responsibility to comply with the program of lifelong job training, green technology, a better and modernized health care system, agriculture, infrastructure, and the modernization of the overall public administration. An equally important responsibility is to make France to be noticed again in the European Union by strengthening their union. There is an important 35% of the French population who supported Le Pen probably because they feel threatened by the present wave of refugees coming from conflicting zones. Macron has the responsibility to makes them feel safe, to tell them that an immigrant is not a terrorist for being a Muslim, or for coming from a Muslim-majority country. He must ensure the national security without undermining the human rights of those in need and without closing the doors to those who are so desperately knocking. It is not an easy job, but it will definitely be the chance for the world to know that we can always offer a hand to those in need while making people at home feel safe in a free world.  

Dott.ssa Ana Figueroa