Bloomberg — Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday to oppose Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which is expected to finish first in early legislative elections called by President Emmanuel Macron within two weeks.
Protesters They intend to draw attention to the policies of the nationalist party in matters of human rights, environment, equal rights and economic issues.
See more: Emmanuel Macron denies possible resignation “whatever the result” of the elections
Macron made a massive bet when he dissolved the legislature on Sunday after his party was defeated by the National Rally in the European Parliament vote. The move was designed to shore up his support at home, but opened the door for Le Pen to take control of the French government.
To further complicate matters for Macron, a group of four left-wing parties have agreed to join forces in the vote, and polls indicate the coalition could become the second-largest bloc ahead of the president’s Renaissance party. Since France has a two-round electoral system, with a bar to advance to the second round, Many Renaissance candidates may not even make it to the final election day.
Marine Le Pen.Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg.
“We are in a historic moment, in an uncertain moment, it is a bit like a leap into the unknown for our democracy,” Marylise Leon, general secretary of the CFDT union that is organizing the protests, told France Inter radio on Saturday. “When it comes to the far right, we mobilize.”
It is expected that until 350,000 people participate in marches across the country, according to French police.
Political uncertainty and the growing likelihood that the next government will push for costly measures for public finances spooked investors. State bonds were at the center of the fall, and the premium investors demand for holding 10-year OAT against German bunds recorded the biggest weekly jump ever recorded.
The crash wiped some $210 billion off the value of French stocks, and the banks Société Générale SA, BNP Paribas SA and Crédit Agricole SA – all large holders of public debt – lost more than 10% each.
The French risk meter on fire
The left-wing coalition – called the New Popular Front – ran into its own problems over the weekend, as its members argued among themselves. Some senior officials from France Unbowed –the far-left party that joined forces earlier in the week with the Greens, the Socialists and the Communists – They attacked their leader Jean-Luc Melenchon for the list of candidates they will present.
“Jean-Luc Melenchon has settled scores with me,” France Unbowed legislator Alexis Corbiere, excluded from the list of candidates, told Franceinfo radio on Saturday. “It is totally petty, a pettiness, a settling of accounts, when what it is about is preventing the extreme right from taking power.”
The four left-wing parties differ radically on political matters, especially when it comes to issues such as the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. So it is not certain that they will be able to stay united during the two rounds of elections.
“We can’t waste time tearing ourselves apart,” declared to the press François Ruffin, candidate of the alliance, at the beginning of a march in the center of Paris. “We have to reassure the country, and we cannot do it by hurling insults at each other.”
He added that Melenchon’s decision to step away from the spotlight since Sunday was “Good news” and that this must “continue to be that way so that we can run a campaign that is as serene and calm as possible.”
Former President François Hollande will stand for election in his historic constituency of Correze, according to a person familiar with his intentions, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The situation on the left reflects the turmoil in the conservative Republican party, which is embroiled in a dispute over whether its leader was legally expelled after he tried to form an alliance with Le Pen’s group.
Paris judges on Friday night ordered the temporary suspension of Eric Ciotti’s expulsion to give him time to file a lawsuit to argue the merits of his case. Ciotti affirms that he is still the president of Los Republicanos, and his lawyer had argued that the rules were broken during the maneuver to oust him.
Le Pen’s party wins the most seatsSource: Elabe for BFM TV and La Tribune Dimanche
Macron has attempted to portray his opponents on both the far left and far right as unfit to govern the country, calling both sides “incoherent.”
“They are not prepared to govern”Macron told reporters at the Group of Seven summit in southern Italy. “Today there are two extreme blocs that are not responsible and that promise gifts to people that are not financed.”
His Economy Minister, Bruno Le Maire, warned at the beginning of the week that A victory for the left alliance would lead to economic collapse and the country’s departure from the EU. by placing fears about the economy at the center of the campaign.
“His program is completely crazy,” Le Maire said on Franceinfo radio. “It will guarantee the degradation of the economy, mass unemployment and exit from the European Union.”
See more: Macron’s election call sends French markets to their worst week in years
Officials from the new left bloc rejected Le Maire’s claims about his economic program. They say Macron’s tax cuts for the rich and on capital have left a gaping hole in public finances.
Besides, It is not clear that the government’s scaremongering tactics will work, and they are reminiscent of 2016 warnings against Brexit and Donald Trump’s rise to the White House.
The National Rally is on track to win up to 270 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly, compared to between 90 and 130 for Macron and his allies, according to a projection by the pollster Elabe.
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