Macron

Western Europe

Is Macron Orchestrating a Coup? – Yasser Louati

By calling snap parliamentary elections, French President Emmanuel Macron took a political gamble: it resulted in the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front, winning the most seats, and Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally failing to obtain a majority. Political analyst Yasser Louati breaks down Macron's crushing electoral defeat and his undemocratic tactics in delaying the appointment of a new Prime Minister until after the Paris Olympics. The results reflect an increasing rejection of Macron's neo-liberalism and anti-Muslim policies, such as his hijab ban for French female athletes at the Olympics.  

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Western Europe

France: What Does Far-Left and Far-Right Mean? – Sari Hanafi Pt. 2/2

In part 2, French-Palestinian sociologist Dr. Sari Hanafi discusses right-wing movements in France and Italy and the misuse of the descriptor "hard left" or "extreme left" to misrepresent the platform of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's France Unbowed.

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Western Europe

Weaponizing Antisemitism to Politically Assassinate the French Left – Sari Hanafi Pt. 1/2

Against all expectations, the left coalition, aptly calling itself the “New Popular Front,” was able to win the most seats - 182 out of 577 seats - in the final round of the French parliamentary elections. French-Palestinian sociologist Dr. Sari Hanafi explains how the left quickly formed a political alliance to keep Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, the National Rally, from gaining enough seats to govern in the French parliament. He delves into the weaponization of antisemitism to smear Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of France Unbowed, which is the largest leftist party within the New Popular Front. 

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Western Europe

Left Alliance Challenging Far-Right Takeover in France – Renaud Lambert

In recent EU parliamentary elections, Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party won 31.4% of the vote, while the coalition representing President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party garnered an embarrassing 14%. Renaud Lambert, journalist at Le Monde Diplomatique, contextualizes the rise of the far-right, and how President Macron's decision to call snap legislative elections on June 30 and July 7 has prompted the left to form the New Popular Front, an unlikely coalition of four left-wing parties. Will this left alliance garner enough support to torpedo a far-right victory in the French parliament? 

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