But if Marin Le Pen wins, it will be a political earthquake to compete with Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as US President in 2016. The victory of an ardent nationalist and Eurosceptic would cast doubt on the future of the EU. Le Pen’s agenda on immigration and Islam would also threaten social stability in France. Twenty years ago, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the far-right National Front, received less than 18 percent of the vote in the final round of the presidential election. A generation later, his daughter, Marin, is close to the presidency – polls suggest he will win the support of at least 45 percent of voters. The televised debate between Macron and Le Pen on Wednesday will be crucial and could change the momentum of the race. The fact that Le Pen is doing so well is a testament to both the radicalization of the French electorate and its own successful efforts to tarnish its image. In the first round of voting on April 10, about 57 percent of French voters chose candidates from either the far right or the far left. These days, Le Pen rejects the “far right” label. Like Macron, she insists she is neither left nor right. In her election campaign, she has cleverly focused on finances and the cost of living – presenting herself as a candidate for the hard-pressed French workers and Macron as the champion of an unknown metropolitan elite. Lepen has also softened her personal and political style. He smiles a lot, speaks calmly and has mastered the art of sounding logical. In reality, however, Le Pen’s domestic and international agenda remains radical, dangerous and internally inconsistent. It’s Macron’s task, next critical week, to uncover these flaws. The French president should, in particular, not forgive when linking his opponent with Vladimir Putin. Le Pen insists she has met the Russian president only once and that her party was forced to borrow money from a Russian bank in 2014 because French financial institutions avoided it. In fact, there are long-standing ideological ties between Le Pen and Putin. Just in 2017, she cited the Russian president as an example of her approach to politics. Le Pen’s domestic and international policies are also full of contradictions. Inside, it proposes a classic populist mix of higher spending, lower taxes and early retirement – combined with protectionism and restrictions on foreign work. This combination of policies would hurt the workers he claims to be defending. A key element in softening Le Pen’s image has been the adoption of a softer approach to the EU. These days he is no longer a proponent of Frexit. But her insistence on giving priority to French law over EU law would be tantamount to Frexit under another name. National preferences policies for French workers and industry, if promoted, are also clearly incompatible with being part of the EU’s single market. fix it. The French president left it late to start his campaign seriously. Must use this last, critical week for good results.
