#FRANCE: Le Pen's Party Wins First Round of Parliamentary Elections

[world politics news]

Marine Le Pen's right-leaning National Rally (RN) party scored historic gains to win the first round of France's parliamentary election on Sunday, exit polls showed, but the final result will depend on days of horsetrading before next week's run-off.

The RN was seen winning around 34% of the vote, exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay and Elabe showed, in a huge setback for President Emmanuel Macron who had called the snap election after his ticket was trounced by the RN in European Parliament elections earlier this month.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Pres.Macron Dissolves Parliament After Right-Leaning Party Gains In EU Election

[world politics news] 

French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the French Parliament and called snap elections in the wake of European election results. Exit polls show Marine Le Pen's National Rally are set to trounce Macron's party in a historic win for the party. 

French parliamentary elections will be held on 30 June and 7 July. Right-leaning parties have also reportedly made substantial gains in Austria and Germany, exit polls say.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: LePen Leads Macron By 12 Points In Latest Poll

[world politics news]

Emmanuel Macron has been dealt a major blow as Marine Le Pen’s National Rally soars ahead in the latest EU Parliament poll of polls.

National Rally, which is led in Brussels by Le Pen’s protege Jordan Bardella, registered 30 per cent support, up seven-points compared to the last election.

The election is slated for next month.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Pres. Macron Loses Majority In Parliamentary Election

[world politics news]

President Emmanuel Macron faced calls for his prime minister to resign on Monday and doubt hung over his ability to rule decisively after his camp lost parliamentary majority. Macron's centrist camp is under pressure to secure support from rivals to salvage Macron's reform agenda after weekend elections delivered a hung parliament. 

If it fails, France could face a long spell of political paralysis.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Macron Appeals To Voters Ahead Of Final Round Of Elections

[world politics news]

 

French President Emmanuel Macron is appealing to voters to give him a "solid majority" in Sunday's parliamentary polls, warning against adding "French disorder to global disorder."

Macron said that "the months ahead will be difficult" but called for people to back him in the name of "the higher national interest" and "common sense."

The appeal comes after strong gains in the first round of elections for the Right-leaning  Rassemblement National ("National Rally") Party of Marine Le Pen.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Macron Wins Reelection Over Populist Le Pen

[world politics news]

 

French President Emmanuel Macron cruised to a second term Sunday, beating back a stronger-than-expected challenge from a far-right populist who has attacked the European Union and NATO and expressed support for Russia.

In a rematch of the 2017 presidential election, Macron led Le Pen with more than 58% of the vote, according to projected results from the French news media, working with national pollsters

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Macron/Le Pen Enter Final Leg of Campaign

[world politics news]

 

President Emmanuel Macron and challenger Marine Le Pen both have relatively gentle schedules on Monday, pacing themselves until Wednesday's TV face-off, which could turn out to be the key to the campaign.

In 2017, when the pair clashed at this stage of the campaign, it was clear that Macron emerged as the more convincing candidate. He won the election comfortably a few days later.

This time however, Le Pen insists she is better prepared. "In my head, I'm ready to exercise power," she told TF1 television Sunday night.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Macron/Le Pen Will Face Off In Runoff

[world politics news]

 

NATO and the European Union face a nervous two weeks after Marine Le Pen on Sunday qualified for the second round of the French presidential election to challenge Emmanuel Macron on April 24.

The French president won 27.6 percent of the vote at the end of the first round of voting. His rival Le Pen, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, garnered 23.4 percent of the vote. It is Le Pen’s third appearance —and her highest ever showing — in the first round of a presidential election.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Le Pen Narrows Gap With Macron

[world politics news]

With just 10 days to go before the first round on April 10, Le Pen is polling in second place behind the incumbent, President Emmanuel Macron. Crucially, polls suggest she is 3% to 7% ahead of third-placed Jean-Luc Mélenchon, meaning she is likely to qualify for the all-important run-off on April 24.

Second-round data also looks encouraging for Le Pen, who has significantly narrowed the gap with Macron since she lost by more than 20 percentage points five years ago. A poll by the Ifop-Fiducial group published on Monday indicated Macron would win by just 53% versus 47% for Le Pen – a gap narrow enough to send alarm bells ringing in the president’s camp. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Le Pen To Meet With Hungarian PM Orban To Discuss Unity

[world politics news]

The two euroskeptic politicians will meet for the first time today as Marine Le Pen continues with her electoral campaign to replace Emmanuel Macron in 2022.

The National Rally leader had so far been ignored by Viktor Orban but the two have become closer allies since the Hungarian Prime Minister's party left the European People's Party in the EU Parliament in March.

The two leaders, together with Matteo Salvini in Italy, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and 11 others, signed a declaration in July pledging to create a new far-right group in the European Parliament.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Pres. Candidate Le Pen Would "Tear Down" Wind Turbines

[world politics news]

 
France's right-leaning presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has said that she will tear down the country's wind turbine, end all subsidies for renewable energy, and focus on nuclear energy if elected president.

She added that she would scrap the subsidies for wind and solar, which she said added up to six or seven billion euros per year and put a heavy burden on consumers' power bills.

Le Pen also said that she would provide strong support for France's nuclear industry.

France produces about 75 per cent of its power in nuclear plants and has an active anti-wind movement.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Poll Shows Right-Wing Candidate Marine Le Pen Within 4 Points Of Pres. Macron

[world politics news] 

A new Harris Interactive poll for the 2022 French Presidential election shows that, in a run-off between the incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and nationalist opponent Marine Le Pen, Macron would receive 52% of the vote. 

This is the lowest number from Macron that's ever been recorded by a pollster.

Macron has had historically bad poll numbers for years, though. His handling of the "Yellow jacket" protests and his conservative economic reforms were largely to blame.

Le Pen has served as president of the National Rally political party (previously named National Front) since 2011. She has been the member of the National Assembly for Pas-de-Calais's 11th constituency since June, 2017.

In 2012, she placed third in the presidential election with 17.90% of the vote, behind François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.

She launched a second bid to become President of France at the 2017 presidential election. She finished second in the first round of the election, with 21.30% of the vote, and faced Emmanuel Macron of centrist party En Marche! in the second round of voting. On May 7, 2017, she conceded after receiving approximately 33.9% of the vote in the second round.

She is the daughter of former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who headed the party for nearly 40 years, and who also sought the presidency repeatedly. 

She has sought to distance herself from his more controversial positions and statements, which opponents characterized as anti-Semitic and racist.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#EU: Populist Leaders Attack Merkel And Macron's French-German Treaty As A Surrender Of Sovereignty

[world politics news]

Populist leaders in Germany and France are attacking the Treaty of Aachen signed yesterday as a surrender of sovereignty for both nations. The treaty, which will "twin" their two economies, militaries and even political systems was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Both hailed the treaty as a reaffirmation of the European Union, but some see in it a reassertion of Germany and France as the major superpowers within the EU. According to Merkel, the agreement is a step towards a common European army, which sets off alarm bells for many. It also appears to be a virtual economic, social and political merger of the two nations.

The treaty represents nothing short of "high treason,"  said French Euroskeptic Member of European Parliament Bernard Monot. Macron’s true aim is to deliver "Alsace and Lothringen, Judas-like, to the foreign power," said Monot. The leader of France’s National Rally, Marine Le Pen, accused Macron of "an act that borders on treason." She said the treaty opens the door to forcing children in France's border regions to speak German at school.

Alternative for Germany Party leader Alexander Gauland said Merkel and Macron are trying to create "A Super-EU" within the European Union. "We populists insist that both take care of their own country first."

[FULL STORY HERE AND HERE AND HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Britain's HSBC And France's Societe Generale Bank Close Marine LePen's Personal, Party Accounts

[world politics news]

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Wednesday said she is filing lawsuits for "political discrimination" against bank Societe Generale, its subsidiary Credit du Nord and Britain’s biggest bank, HSBC, for closing her and her National Front party’s accounts. Le Pen said she and her party were the victims of what she called a "banking banishment" meant to silence them. According to Le Pen, she was informed by phone earlier on Wednesday by HSBC's French boss Thomas Vandeville that her personal account was being shut. She said she had been a client of the bank for 25 years.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: National Front Leader Le Pen Under Investigation Over EU Staff Funding

[world politics news]

National Front Leader Marine Le Pen has been placed under formal investigation over the European parliament funding scandal. The charges relate to claims her party misused European Parliament funds to pay for staff in France, with parliamentary officials claiming up to five million euros (£4.4 million) could have been wrongly used to pay staff working on party-specific issues.

 [FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Macron Defeats Le Pen In French Presidential Election

[world politics news]

Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron has decisively won the French presidential election. Macron defeated far-right candidate Marine Le Pen by about 65.5% to 34.5% to become, at 39, the country's youngest president. Macron will become the first president from outside the two traditional main parties since the modern republic's foundation in 1958, and the youngest leader of France since Napoleon. He said that a new page was being turned in French history. "I want it to be a page of hope and trust," he said.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Socialists, Conservatives Unite To Defeat Le Pen In Run-Off Election

[world politics news]

France's beaten mainstream parties have lined up behind Emmanuel Macron in a desperate bid to stave off a victory for the National Front Party's Marine Le Pen in the final round of the presidential election. The Republicans' François Fillon and Socialist Benoît Hamon urged supporters to vote for Macron on May 7, after Le Pen and Macron defeated the conservative and Socialist candidates in the first round election yesterday to advance to the run-off. Pres. François Hollande has also said he will vote for Macron.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Voters Head To The Polls Today In First Round of Presidential Voting

[world politics news]

French voters are voting today in the first round of their presidential election - the most contentious and meaningful in decades. National Front candidate Marine Le Pen is expected to do well, and may perhaps win 50% or more, avoiding a run-off election with her 10 other opponents. She, along with many of the other candidates, have campaigned against the European Union, and she vows to pull out of the Euro currency, a "Frexit" that would follow the pattern of the British "Brexit."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: National Front Leader LePen Leading Rivals In Latest Poll

[world politics news]

The National Front leader and presidential candidate Marine LePen is three points ahead of her closest rival, Emmanuel Macron and eight points ahead of former front runner Francois Fillon, according to a newly released Opinionway-Orpi poll. Fillon's campaign has been dogged by multiple scandals, eroding early leads.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Outgoing Pres. Hollande Says It's His "Last Duty" To Prevent Le Pen Victory

[world politics news]

Pres. François Hollande says it is his "last duty" to prevent Marine Le Pen from winning the election this year and leading Paris out of the EU. Le Pen, who is leading in the polls, has vowed to ditch the euro as France’s currency if elected and hold a referendum on the country’s membership of the European Union. Hollande has battled high unemployment throughout his five-year term and has suffered low poll ratings.

[FULL STORY HERE]