I’d like to think that the French People are as bloody-minded as us Brits. It is who Melenchon and Fillion’s supporters now get behind that counts here.
Melenchon is supposedly hard left. Unlike our Corbyn though, he’s quite the showman, and VERY popular further afield that his own party.
My thinking is that “losing in the first round” is the French version of “Throwing Bernie Sanders under the bus” that we saw done at the hands of Hilary’ Clinton’s subfaction within the Democrat party last year.
I wonder then, if some of those supporters rather than hating the “Hard Right” that the media says Le Pen is with a passion - they will instead be welcomed to Le Pen’s side with open arms. We are talking about ordinary workers left behind after all. I would not expect them to support France’s Tony Blair in Macron any more than Corbyn’s supporters over here would get behind Blair, should the axe one day fall on Corbyn’s time at the top…
As for Fillon’s supporters - He’s said to be the French Thatcher. Those supporters would go as naturally to the Rightmost party then as obviously Ex-UKIP voters will be getting behind Theresa May’s Conservatives in our own forthcoming election…
Marine Le Pen is currently 7/1 in the betting, having drifted OUT slightly upon getting through to the second round.
Supposedly, Macron is the only candidate that can beat her…
I suggest though that this entirely plastic and artificial flim flam man with no political office, married to his school teacher who first bedded him at age 17, and connected to Big Money with it’s globalist agenda - might well find that HE is the only person SHE can beat!
The media and establishment are about to pay a heavy price for believing in their own lies, when it comes to portraying Le Pen as “Hard” Right and “Extermist” politician all the time.
The more you listen to her, the more you realize that she’s actually a traditionalist, going for home-grown French values, and wants to push back the tide of globalism first and foremost. The issues of Immigration are secondary, as they actually are in this country regarding Brexit.
I didn’t vote Brexit for Immigration reasons at all - to me, it’s all about the Money. Immigration plays a part in the Money issue of course - but here we stand like France being told what to do by our irremovable powers that dictate to us that we must wear all the downsides of Globalization with chin up.
Le Pen winning though is one thing. It fits the pattern that she can pull off the “third” upset following Brexit and Trump. What we must hope does NOT happen though - is the result is another Brexit at 52/48 or Trump with a non-win in the popular vote…
Of course, from the UK’s point of view - A Le Pen win will significantly accelerate the process of Brexit. I suspect that the EU will crumble away from US rather than us even have to leave it even!
If Macron wins, then France will then be used by the EU to “punish Britain” with, and the case for the Remoaners would have just gained a significant ally.
Don’t want that!