French President Emmanuel Macron's party, Renaissance (formally En Marche!), was humiliated in the first round of parliamentary elections on June 30 by the more conservative National Rally (RN). Consequently, fearful that it might spell the end of their democracy and the start of democracy for everyone else, Leftists rioted. According to the Daily Mail:
Rioting engulfed the streets of Paris last night as thousands of enraged left-leaning voters set light to rubbish, smashed up shop windows and launched fireworks after Marine Le Pen's RN steamed to victory with 33% of the first round vote.
Hordes of riot cops were dispatched across the city, particularly in the French capital's Place de la République where the police clashed with flare-toting rioters into the early hours of the morning.
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Barricades designed to keep crowds controlled were overturned as countless protesters poured into Place de la République and climbed the iconic statue showing the personification of France, Marianne.
Bins were uprooted, with their contents spread all over the tarmac and promptly set alight as protesters circled touting banners, flares and projectiles.
Young women trying to enjoy nights out in the city were forced to stand behind armoured cops who forced back the activists with batons and tear gas as firefighters were called in to douse the blazes set by protestors.
The article explains that voting for members of the National Assembly takes place over two rounds. In the first round of voting, anyone receiving a majority of votes gets the Assembly seat for which they were running. If no one gets a majority, the election for that seat then proceeds to a second round of voting. The person that gets the most votes in the second round--even if it is not a majority--wins the seat.
The second round is open to any candidate that received 12% or more of the vote in the first round, although a candidate is free to withdraw and sometimes do in order to boost another candidate's results. For instance, in this case, "[s]enior figures in the New Popular Front, the left-wing coalition that came second in the first round, have pledged to pull out of any races where NFP candidates came third and RN candidates came first, in order to allow citizens to vote out the far-right." And "Macron's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who is likely to be forced to resign after the second round, warned that the right was now at the 'gates of power' and implored voters to block the RN in the second round set for Sunday July 7."
I wonder if the French have learned that their media is just as odious as ours?
ReplyDeleteI found it enlightening watching the post-debate show on CNN because of the number of so-called "journalists" there that admitted to calls, texts, and the like from major Democratic donors and politicians during the debate. I saw the same on some excerpts from an MSNBC panel. It emphasizes what Angelo M. Codevilla has stated about the monoculture of the ruling class: they went to the same schools, they socialize together, marry each other, hold the same values. I'm sure the French media are the same.
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