France. The winner is not known, the losers are obvious
The French voters are preparing for the second round of the presidential elections. The current socialist president Francois Hollande did not participate in them with the official wording "because of his low popularity." Indeed, the polls confidently assigned him only 5% confidence in voters, providing the palm tree in the ranking of anti-popularity among the presidents of the period Fifth Republic.
Eleven candidates presented their electoral programs. Nine of them were eliminated according the results of the first round. Two candidates came out to the second round – Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.
Marine Le Pen is well known to us, because Russian mass media often write and talk about her. Since January 16, 2011, she heads the political party "National Front", advocates for a multipolar world, the withdrawal of France from NATO, deepening cooperation with Russia, she is against "demonizing Russia by EU countries with the United States` initiative". Also she condemned the military campaign of NATO and EU countries in Libya.
Another candidate, Emmanuel Macron, is not so popular even in France. He was born in 1977, is a former investment banker, former Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs. Rumors about his personal life, financial flows and political ties surround him throughout the entire election campaign. In 2007, he married his former teacher of French, Brigitte Trogneux, who is 24 years older. He was in love with her since school times. Brigitte has three children from her previous marriage.
Macron is a convinced Atlantist. He stands for the strengthening of the EU. He speaks for the fight against terrorism. However, the support of President Hollande, who is in the hard wake of American US foreign policy and who supports armed detachments in Syria, seen in the murders of civilians, is depreciating these statements.
Macron, unlike Le Pen, is an advocate of an open door policy for immigrants. Of course, the French voters do not like this. Therefore, it is logical that Macron at the same time supports the increase in the financing of the special services, the army and the police: the French people must be frightened not to dare to oppose the influx of migrants demonstrating disrespect to their culture, values and life-stile. May be, because of that the leader of the National Front, Marine Le Pen, on April 25 on the TV channel TF1 named Macron a mercenary of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France (UOIF), after which headlines began to appear in the media: "Macron follows the Islamists."
Also, Macron, speaking in words for limiting foreign investment, openly supports the trade agreement between the EU and Canada.
As for his social program, it is composed of a bizarre mixture of right and left slogans. Although until 2009, Macron was a member of the Socialist Party of France, in 2016 he announced the creation of a "progressist" party "Forward!", Which "is neither right nor left." This is such a mess that is characteristic of all populist political forces, whose main goal is power, and not the notorious "public favor" in the understanding of French and Russian novels of the XIX century.
However, in this case, the analysis of the details of the political platforms of Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron is completely superfluous. It is enough to point out the three most important points on which candidates adhere to diametrically opposed views: attitudes toward migration policy, attitudes towards NATO, and attitudes toward Russia.
Marine Le Pen advocates limiting the flow of migrants to France, France's withdrawal from the NATO military bloc and the lifting of sanctions and the improvement of relations with Russia.
Macron, as noted above, stands on the grounds of further reception of refugees, strengthening of NATO, and does not exclude the possibility of extending sanctions against Russia.
Moreover, Macron not only supports the anti-Russian foreign policy of reactionary Western politicians who think in cold war’s terms, but also actively participates in anti-Russian actions. During the campaign, Macron's headquarters accused Russian state-run media "Russia Today" and "Sputnik News" of publishing fake information about their candidate.
However, the British news agency Reuters circulated a statement that the spokesman for French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron could not present a single example of "spreading fake news" by Russian media.
"Even Reuters, who are hard to blame in their love for us, noticed that the Macron team can not bring any examples of RT and Sputnik fakes," Margarita Simonyan, RT Editor-in-Chief, said in this regard.
Nevertheless, the headquarters of the French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron again refused to answer "RT" to the request for accreditation. As a result journalists of the TV channel were not allowed to head into Macron's headquarters. The head of Sputnik France, Natalia Novikova, also indicated that Macron's headquarters did not respond to several requests for accreditation.
When the correspondent asked the press secretary of the Macron headquarters, whether she is against the freedom of the media, she replied that she is busy and she needs to work. A good illustration of the attitude to the freedom of speech of Macron's headquarters and the political forces behind him, isn`t it?
Margarita Simonyan commented on the situation in these terms: "This is how inelegant freedom of speech ends in a country that almost boasts of its freedoms more than camembert and brie."
There were no strict limitations on the participation of foreign media in covering the presidential elections either in Russia or in South Ossetia, although it is in limiting freedom of speech that the West (including France) likes to reproach Russia, not to mention us, whom they like to call "occupied" - it is unclear on what grounds.
However, the cruelty of the French police in the dispersal of schoolchildrens` demonstration is more reminiscent the cruelty of the occupants with regard to the occupied natives. On April 27, the police, accompanying the uncoordinated procession of schoolchildren and lyceum students, used special means against children, including tear gas, which is harmful to health (especially for childrens` eyes).
It is characteristic that on the same day, were published results of the public opinion polls conducted by “Opinionway”. According to them the rating of Maríne Le Pen increased by one percentage point for another day after meeting with the striking workers of the Whirpool plant, threatened with the transition to another country.
This happened on Wednesday morning. And after Le Pen, her competitor visited the same plant. Emmanuel Macron was booed during a visit to the Whirpool plant. From the crowd of workers who met politicians, there were shouts of "Marine - President!" and condemning exclamations. Someone from the staff of "Whirpool" even lit a fire in protest against Macron.
"I did not come to promise you mountains of miracles. First of all, I want to talk with the inter-union association," the former minister clumsily acquitted himself.
He tried to intimidate the workers, that in case of his rival`s victory the plant would be closed, but his words had no effect.
Thus, watching the progress of the election campaign in France, studying the slogans and views of candidates, you come to the realization that Marine Le Pen fully understands the needs and aspirations of the French workers.
On Thursday at dawn, Le Pen went to sea on a fishing boat in the Gar department in the south of the country. In a light gray storm she posed for the photographer and communicated with the crew. The boat trip lasted about four hours. About one hundred supporters shouted the slogan "Marine – President" in the presidential candidate's port. All that could do to counter it, Macron, who is not supported by the population – was to write a stinging comment on Twitter.
The fairness of the elections held in France raises very great doubts. First, they are conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not by independent Central Election Commission. Secondly, against the backdrop of such support of Le Pen by the most part of the French electors, here and there appear "results of the poll", which predict a victory for Macron. But who will vote for him if the whole of France is frightened by an avalanche of migrants and aggravation of international tension through the fault of the US and NATO, making France hostage to their aggressive policy? Thirdly, the French politicians who have been welded together by secret threads and controlled by the United States are literally tearing their throats, calling for a vote against Le Pen. Even the current president François Hollande.
Is it worth continuing the list of dirty methods and political technologies, which, as from the horn of plenty, fell on Le Pen and her supporters? If during the such campaign, Russian President Vladimir Putin (whose rating is differ from Holland's rating, like heaven and earth!) would allow himself the same attitude to a political opponent in the election, or his headquarters would refuse accreditation to the leading French media, then the West would immediately attack Russia with a shrill, unflagging criticism.
Apparently, the current rulers of France throw very serious forces to steal Marine Le Pen`s deserved victory. They try attack her on all fronts. And, seeing that there is nothing to counter to her reasonable arguments at the level of political positions, her opponents use the methods from the "non-censored set".
It is difficult to say who will be the winner of these dirty presidential elections. But the losers are already known. They is Right, Truth, Justice and, of course, the French people.
Inal Pliev,
International expert of IA "Res".
When making a collage to an article
Used a picture of a Soviet artist
F. P. Reshetnikov "For Peace!"
