To be shit scared about the French elections

[brexitstolemyfuture]

Recent events could of given her a big boost, I'm getting pretty worried :(

Anyone in on the ground to reassure?

Trump is a joke candidate

Except he's not, is he? He's president of the United States. That's not funny. That's serious.

If we had a FPTP system here UKIP would probably be in Westminster now.

As someone said, people need to start reading the warning signs.

I think that's harsh - but you may know a lot more about it than I do (which wouldn't be hard!).

For example, the people I know who voted Brexit vary wildly, but only 1 of them just plain dislikes foreigners. The rest of them had reasons ranging from thinking that the EU is corrupt and ruins lives in poorer parts of Europe, to disliking rich londoners and politicians, to living in areas that have been screwed by years of no investment by government and then blaming immigration for that.

I don't agree with any of them, and am v anti Brexit, but their reasons make me sad. It would be very depressing indeed to think that there are so many people out there who genuinely have those awful Le Pen views.

Why what's wrong with le pen?
Given the shit that France has had to put up with, I thought you'd be happy that a protector was in the front running?.

Applebite well said!

Pinkandwhite I thought we do have a FPTP system here.

I think she may have meant proportional representation? In which case, UKIP would have come second. Shudder!!

dragons, totally agree with you. I am pro Brexit and right wing and Le Pen isa different kettle of fish.

The left wing tend to have an attack of the vapours when anybody who is more right wing than Chairman Mao gets a sniff of power which I think is why some people don't realise how serious the threat of Le Pen is and just bracket her in with Trump, Farage and Brexit. In fact she is much worse and a proper old school fascist who would take Europe back to the dark days of the 30s, much more akin to the BNP.

That said I don't think she stands a snowball in hells chance of winning. The only way that could happen is if all the voters for the far left candidate were just voting for someone to get them out of the EU and transfer to her. I don't think that will happen.

I don't think Macron is going to be that great either, he doesn't stand for much so could end up doing anything. I suspect he will be an arch neo Lib. But anything is better than her.

I think Macron will get in but achieve little in his term. This will then pave the way for Le Pen's success in the next election. Obama made it easy for Trump.

I don't think Le Pen will ever get in. The occupation is too close a memory.

I don't think Le Pen will win either. Nor do I see her offering any easy solutions to France's complex deep rooted problems. But -genuine question, and I am not being a goady fucker, in what way is she a fascist and worse than Trump or Farage? She isn't her appalling father and expelled him from the party. Her economic policies appear more left than right with talk of a bigger state and economic protectionism. She's played the feminist card (probably cynically). I'd like someone to demonstrate to me with examples how she's a 1930s style fascist.

I'm thinking the same thing 👇🏻

I agree with we mustn't ignore the warning signs they have been around for some time and have largely been ignored

I don't quite put UKIP in the same bracket (MLP is more BNP) but Farage was able to win over votes from centre and far right and labour too and he was largely laughed at and not taken seriously which was as we all now know a mistake he has had the last laugh

Jlm pointedly didn't call for his voters to shift to macron last night.

From what little I know ( only from reading the net and watching the english news) I doubt that Le Pen will do that well on the 7th may and wont increase her lead at all.

Macron seems in favour of cutting services and is a bit of a dark horse.
He is the one that the EU will want as he is very pro EU.

I'm not against the cutting of public sector jobs, providing the cuts come from the administrative side which really is completely bloated, inefficient and ineffective IME, as opposed to frontline staff in schools and hospitals etc. Macron also wants to digitalise more public sector managed admin processes, which is long overdue and a personal bugbear of mine. It's ridiculous having to take a day off work to go and stand in a queue at the prefecture to register your new car, or get your passport renewed or get some stupid bit of paper stamped.

I also think it's necessary to look at the retirement age (currently 60-62) and unemployment benefits (for med-high earners, not SMIC/ low earners) which are really very cushy at the moment. Both things on Macrons programme I believe.

I understand that still he is too fiscally right wing for many on the left, but socially (for want of a better word) he seems to me to be pretty progressive in terms of positions on gay marriage/adoption, immigration, not going after the veil etc. Unlike Fillon with his staunch Catholic views, including doubts about abortion (even though that wasn't in his programme).

Yes I'd like to know more real facts about Marie LP instead of hysteria and sudden expertise on French politics.

If I should be alarmed I'd like to know why. Some hard facts please.

I'd like someone to demonstrate to me with examples how she's a 1930s style fascist
.
Le Pen recently called for banning the wearing of the kippah in public and for making it illegal for French nationals to also have an Israeli passport

Part of her manifesto is to impose a tax on any employer who hires a non-French national.

She wanted to ban all religious attire from public places and that included the kippah. Religious attire is already banned from government buildings, schools etc.