Why Is France Acting Like Marine Le Pen Is the Adult in the Room?

NYT OPINION: Why Is France Acting Like Marine Le Pen Is the Adult in the Room?
By Mitchell Abidor and Miguel Lago
Section: Opinion
Source: New York Times
Published Date: May 15, 2023 at 03:00AM

Shouldn’t a protest movement led by unions be benefiting the left?

For three months, France has been in revolt: Demonstrators have marched; railroad workers have blocked tracks; barricades and buildings have been set aflame; protesters have done battle in the street with police. The most recent innovation has been tamer: People have banged pots whenever the president has appeared. The cause? President Emmanuel Macron’s measure raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

This might at first glance appear to be the work of a vibrant political left wing, fighting pro-business, anti-worker policies from a center-right technocratic government. Indeed, France’s labor unions — though representing a smaller share of the work force than elsewhere in Western Europe — have been united in their opposition, making them a redoubtable force. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who leads the left-wing coalition NUPES, has been a central figure in the parliamentary fight against Mr. Macron, nearly bringing down his government with a no-confidence vote in March.

And yet it is not France’s left that has benefited from the popular rebellion. It is the far right.

Recent polls showed that if last year’s head-to-head presidential election were held now, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right Rassemblement National, would beat Mr. Macron handily, 55 to 45 percent. Other polls that list all possible candidates have shown that Mr. Mélenchon, despite his and his group’s support for the anti-Macron movement, has gained a mere percentage point since last year’s elections, hovering at around a quarter of the votes and, in some scenarios, only 20 percent.

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/15/opinion/france-macron-le-pen.html