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FRENCH ELECTION DUE IN APRIL - THE PLAYERS INVOLVED -VIVE LA FRANCE
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1071161/world
PARIS: France’s presidential election moves into high gear on Monday when the top five contenders face off in a TV debate that could help sway legions of undecided voters, a month before they go to the polls.
Centrist frontrunner Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are expected to come under attack in the first of three debates ahead of the April 23 opening round in France’s most unpredictable election in decades.
A total of 11 candidates spanning the spectrum from Trotskyist left to far right are running for president. Six smaller candidates have been excluded from the debates.
Advisers to 48-year-old Le Pen, who is running neck-and-neck with Macron in polls for the first round but tipped for a sound beating by him in the May 7 run-off, said she would tear into the “globalist” program of her pro-EU rival.
Former economy minister Macron, 39, will also come under pressure from conservative nominee Francois Fillon, who will attempt to claw back votes lost to the centrist since he became embroiled in a damaging expenses scandal.
Polls currently show Fillon, the one-time favorite, crashing out in the first round, behind Le Pen and Macron, following revelations about payments by parliament to his wife and children and loans and lavish gifts from the rich.
The 63-year-old former premier, who has been charged with misuse of public funds, will attempt to shift the focus to his program, including the radical spending cuts he says represent France’s only hope for real change.
Two men representing the ailing left — the Socialist Party’s Benoit Hamon and Communist-backed radical Jean-Luc Melenchon, currently running in joint fourth — are also hoping for a boost from Monday’s three-hour television joust.
“These elections are a pivotal moment for the French people,” Hamon, a 49-year-old leftist rebel who has struggled to make an impact, told a rally in Paris Sunday.
In a taste of what awaits Macron on Monday Hamon laid into the former Rothschild banker, casting him as the candidate of the elite.
“You’re unemployed? Start your own company! You’re poor? Become billionaires!” he said, alluding to remarks by Macron, a liberal.
The election, in which several political veterans have already been sent packing by voters fed up with politics as usual, could hinge on turnout.
While the Netherlands enjoyed near-record turnout of over 80 percent in its general election, polls in France show only around 65 percent of voters planning to vote in the first round, which would set a record low.
Of those, a whopping 40 percent-plus say they are not yet wedded to any candidate.
Supporters of Macron, who styles himself as a progressive transcending France’s entrenched left-right divide, are among the most volatile while Le Pen’s are the most loyal, polls show.
“The 2017 campaign is hard to get a handle on,” Pascal Perrineau, a political sciences professor at Sciences Po university wrote in Le Monde daily at the weekend, blaming the steady drip of “affairs, real or imagined” for preventing a real debate.
While most of the focus has been on Fillon’s legal woes and the gulf with the “irreproachable” image on which he won the Republicans nomination, Le Pen also goes into the election with several investigations hanging over her party.
Macron, a relative newcomer to politics, has largely avoided scandal but could be tainted by an investigation into possible favoritism over a 2016 event in Las Vegas at which he was the main speaker.
READ THROUGH THE NARRATIVE - THIS IS ABC - THE FRENCH ELECTION CONNECTION
France's top presidential contenders: Who's proposing what?
Sunday's first round of the French presidential election involves one frontrunner, centrist incumbent Emmanuel Macron, seeking a second term, and eleven challengers from the far left to the far right
ByThe Associated Press
6 April 2022, 16:22
• 5 min read
PARIS – France’s presidential race involves one frontrunner, centrist incumbent Emmanuel Macron, and eleven challengers from the far left to the far right. The two top candidates in Sunday's first round qualify for the April 24 runoff.
Here's a look at the main contenders' key proposals.
EMMANUEL MACRON, 44, centrist incumbent, head of the Republic on the Move party
Ukraine: Macron has been at the forefront of international talks on supporting Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia. Macron vows to keep investing in the French military and “significantly” reinforce European armed forces’ capacities and cooperation.
Economy: Macron promises “full employment,” after the jobless rate decreased during his 2017-2022 term to its lowest level in a generation. He wants to progressively raise the retirement age from 62 to 65 and boost the minimum monthly pension.
Energy: He pledges to build six new-generation nuclear reactors, develop solar energy and windfarms at sea.
Immigration: Macron pushes for strengthening external borders of the European passport-free area and creating a new force to better control national borders. He vows to speed up processing of asylum and residence permit applications and to deport those who aren't eligible.
MARINE LE PEN, 53, far-right head of the National Rally party
Ukraine: Marine Le Pen has cultivated ties with Moscow, receiving a loan of 9 million euros from a Russian bank in 2014 and meeting with Putin in 2017. She acknowledged Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “partially” changed her views about Putin, saying he was “wrong.” She says she supports the Ukrainian people and refugees must be welcomed.
Immigration: Le Pen’s plans include ending family reunification policies, restricting social benefits to the French only, and deporting foreigners who stay unemployed for over a year and other migrants who entered illegally.
Economy and energy: She promises to cut taxes on energy and essential goods. She wants to maintain the minimum retirement age at 62 and raise the minimum pension. She vowed to dismantle windfarms and invest in nuclear and hydro energy.
Muslim-related policies: Le Pen promised a law banning Muslim headscarves in all public places, and outlawing events and financing considered to be spreading “Islamism.”
JEAN-LUC MELENCHON, 70, far left
Ukraine: Mélenchon used to call Russia a “partner,” even as European governments were scrambling to find ways to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine. He now supports the Ukrainian “resistance” and Russians who fight what he calls “dictatorship” in their own country.
Economy: Mélenchon promises to raise France’s minimum wage and minimum pension, and lower the retirement age to 60. He wants to re-establish a wealth tax.
Climate and energy: He vows to inscribe a “green rule” in the Constitution which calls for not using more resources than nature can replenish, and putting an end to intensive farming. He seeks to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 65% in 2030 — instead of the current coal of 40%. He wants the state to lock in energy and food prices, and promises to phase out nuclear energy and aim for 100% renewable energy instead.
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ERIC ZEMMOUR, 63, far-right former TV pundit who has been repeatedly convicted of hate speech
Ukraine: Zemmour initially was a supporter of an “alliance” with Russia, and once wished aloud for a “French Putin.” That was before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he condemned. He initially said he would prefer Ukrainian refugees to stay in Poland, but later supported granting them visas if they have ties with France. Zemmour wants France to pull out of NATO's military command.
Immigration: He wants asylum status to be restricted to no more than 100 people per year — down from about 54,000 last year. He would end welfare benefits for non-European foreigners, outlaw immigration for family reunification, create a coast-guard military force to stop arrivals by sea, and deport any migrants who enter without permission.
Muslim-related policies: Zemmour wants a ban on wearing Muslim headscarves in all public spaces, a ban on building big mosques and on foreign financing of the Muslim faith. He proposes restricting the names that parents can give their newborns, de facto banning many names used by French Muslims.
Economy and energy: He promised to cut taxes on businesses, low-income workers, retired people with small pensions and to give families a bonus for children born in rural areas. He wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030. He said he would put an end to all windfarms and vowed to develop nuclear energy.
VALERIE PECRESSE, 54, candidate of conservative The Republicans party
Ukraine: Pécresse denounced Putin’s invasion and pushed for firm sanctions on Russia.
Muslim-related policies: She wants a ban on Muslim headscarves for young girls and in sports clubs. She also wants to ban the burkini, a swimsuit worn by conservative Muslims to cover the entire body, from swimming pools.
Immigration: PĂ©cresse plans to establish immigration quotas. Housing and family benefits would be granted to foreigners only five years after they arrive legally in the country. No residency permit would be provided to those who entered without prior permission.
Economy and energy: She promises to raise low and middle-income workers’ salaries by 10% and to cut taxes on businesses and workers. She wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65 by 2030. She vows to develop nuclear energy and renewable energy, but with restrictions on windfarms.
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Follow AP's France election coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022
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