There are also those who personally rendered services to Putin by acting as “election observers” in various sham elections taking place in Russia or Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine. And then there is Frédéric Boccaletti who combines pro-Putinism — he was an observer for Russia’s parliamentary election in 2021 — with a history of anti-Semitism. Indeed, … Read more
PARIS — France is voting Sunday in the final round of a parliamentary election that has potentially massive implications for the country, the EU and NATO. There is little doubt as to the result for Emmanuel Macron. After his snap election gamble spectacularly backfired, the French president faces, at best, a hung parliament with no … Read more
Before the first round, Mbappé described the legislative elections as a “crucial moment,” calling on people to “vote against extremists that want to divide the country.” Last Sunday, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s far-right National Rally and its allies finished in the lead in the election’s first round with more than 31 percent of … Read more
For the loquacious, daring 46-year-old president, who is forever grabbing the limelight, coming up with new ideas, disrupting the status quo, the new reality is not a comfortable one. The Elysée bunker But like a Napoleon forced into exile, Macron has returned to the drawing board and is preparing his next battle: ruling France after … Read more
For some centrists, the left-wing France Unbowed party and its leader Mélenchon pose an equal or even greater danger than Le Pen. Macron himself has spent much of this campaign slamming the policies of the New Popular Front alliance as “grotesque” and destructive for France. Opponents have slammed the far left, warning that their spending … Read more
This is just the latest episode in an ongoing fight between Macron’s camp and the National Rally over the president’s powers, with the far-right party arguing that it should be up to the next government to appoint key officials. Over the past days, Macron appointed several top officials in France and pushed for his allies … Read more
Thanks to its nationwide-lead, the RN leads the race in most cases. If candidates who came third in these districts withdraw from the election, it potentially works against National Rally (RN), as voters who oppose the far right are likely to band together to back the sole remaining rival candidate. But the process is still … Read more
European financial markets breathed a sigh of relief on Monday morning after the first round of France’s parliamentary elections left President Emmanuel Macron’s party with a fighting chance of still being able to influence the next government. The euro rose half a percent against the dollar to its highest in two weeks, and the benchmark … Read more
France is preparing for a political big bang after Marine Le Pen’s National Rally made big gains on Sunday in the first round of the snap parliamentary election. On the line is the country’s leading role in the EU and NATO — as well as the French economy. Here are the main takeaways based on first … Read more
In recent days, the National Rally and Macron have been publicly fighting about who will get to decide what after the election — including on defense policy and the pick for next EU commissioner. While Bardella explicitly said he wanted to have a say on the name of the future French commissioner, Macron is already … Read more
