For the moment, the bulk of the French ruling class prefers Macron to Le Pen. But if the choice is Le Pen or the left, it will support Le Pen.
In the weeks ahead an almighty class struggle will unfold in France.
In the coming weeks, the temperature of the race to be president will rise as potential candidates announce their wish to run in party primaries or as independent candidates.
As things stand, the left will not make the second round without unity behind one candidate.
In advance of next year’s French presidential election, Macron has significantly stepped up the racist offensive – mainly Islamophobia. This is helping boost support for the far-right, – which he hopes to face in the second round of the election.
By Najete Michell
The by-election on 23rd June in Villeneuve sur Lot was a wake up call for the French political class. The second round run-off posed the question of whether the National Front candidate would win in the election for this Southern France parliamentary seat.
In the event, the NF candidate lost, but he nevertheless got 46 per cent of the vote in the run off against the UMP, apparently getting 7,000 more votes than in the first round, although the exact figures have yet to be released.
By Jane West
A recent by-election in Oise, just north of Paris, has underlined that the austerity policies of Hollande’s French Socialist Party government are not only leading to a collapse in its support, but also to a dangerous growth of the extreme right.
It should also be a wake up call for the anti-fascist movement in the country, which remains weak and divided.
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