RiseLast week, Emmanuel Macron Became the first French president in more than 40 years Official visit Go to Vichy and tell its history. His aim is to counter a sinister historical revisionism that is casting a shadow over the French presidential campaign.Far-right TV commentator Eric ZemoThe person who announced his candidacy two weeks ago claimed that the Vichy regime protected French Jews during World War II. This lie has been condemned and exposed by historians. Mr. Macron said that the bleak truth of the round up and persecution that took place must not be “manipulated” or “modified” due to political motives.
This trip was deemed necessary, which shows that the degree to which extreme views have become normalized in French politics is disturbing, and the center of gravity has tilted to the right.Approximately 30% of French voters plan Vote for Mr. Zemo’s reactionary agenda or Marina Le Pen next spring. Denying Vichy’s crimes is part of toxic nationalism, which seeks to “save” French civilization from immigration and uses the “replacement” theory of white supremacy to show that traditional French culture is under threat.It’s shocking that this agenda has Succeeded Set the tone for the presidential campaign so far.
The extent to which this situation continues may depend on the candidate of the Republican Party of De Gaulle, Valerie Pecres, Who is the nearest won The main of her party. If she defeats Mr. Macron, Ms. Pequeres will become the first female president of France. She comes from the moderate centrist in the party and has achieved a significant rebound in opinion polls since her victory. In the second round of the runoff with the president, a poll predicted that she would win by a narrow margin. But to enter the second round, Ms. Pecres needs to beat Ms. Le Pen and Mr. Zemo, which is expected to have a fierce three-person match on the right.
In order to attract support from both sides and prevent the more conservative side of her own party from defecting, she promised to carry out controversial constitutional reforms to restrict immigration and referendums on “internal security and anti-Islamism.”In her Victory speech She said she felt the “anger” of voters, who felt that immigrants were culturally threatened.Ms. Pecres’ closest competitor in the primaries, Éric Ciotti, warned that the “war of civilization” was coming and called for French “Guantanamo” For terrorist suspects, she has been promised to play a central role in her campaign.
Electoral mathematics-and Mr. Macron’s proven ability to win the support of centrist former republican voters-means that Ms. Pecres may feel the need to move in this direction, which will become a race to the bottom for xenophobic policies.But it is crucial that the traditional French center-right parties are still in the political mainstream and do not succumb to describe As the “Zemmorisation” of French political debate.
This is even more true considering the chaos of the divided and failed French left. None of their candidates have a real chance to enter the second round of the run-off. Last week, the socialist presidential candidate, Annie Hidalgo, suggestion If it cannot be unified behind a single candidate, the left may become extinct as a political force. For one of the most important liberal democracies in the world, this is not a healthy condition. As far as she is concerned, Ms. Pécresse will naturally seek the most feasible route to the Elysee Palace in the spring. But as France swings to the right, it must be hoped that she will not betray the soul of the party in the process.
