Translated “Avante!” article by Ângelo Alves, Member of the Political Committee of the CC and Member of the International Department
The French people voted for the presidential elections, in a first round. Emmanuel Macron, the candidate presented as issued from the “centre”, but a Socialist Party ex-leader, ex-banker, a neoliberal policy and the European Union upholder, supported by François Hollande, was the most voted, achieving 23,75% of the votes. Marine Le Pen, the far right-wing “Front National”, obtained 21.53%, a far from the “expected” result, in the polls. Both ought to be running the second round in May 7th. Jean Luc Melenchon, the “ Unsubmissive France” and to which the FCP joined, registered an important growth since 2012, achieving 19.64 % of the votes (11.1% in 2012) and 7 million votes (more 3 million than in 2012). The elections were marked by an intense ideological campaign and numerous pressures. Manipulation was the dominant tone.
The far right-wing manipulated terrorism in order to incite fear and use the nationalist and reactionary speech. Manoeuvred, round the contestation against the EU, notwithstanding, never criticizing, its ideological foundations, hindering its real project for France: the great capital absolute domain, more and more exploitation and oppression on workers and the people. On the other hand, the right-wing and social-democracy manipulated the far right-wing danger in order to contain its electoral erosion and hinder its responsibilities and the points of contact among their economic and anti-social policies with the far right-wing. The EU power directorate nurtured “chaos” fear within France, in order to contradict the evident withdrawal of the French people towards the EU project. Its main enemy was not the far right-wing, as it ought to seem, but instead, those that, with coherence, stand against the EU policies, in the defence of social rights and sovereignty.
Manipulations and simulations reveal a deep crisis, in which France and the EU are in. They are the implicit revelation of the parties discredit, those that traditionally assumed the EU performing of its policies and deepened the working people’s problems.
The French official SP candidate’s electoral hecatomb is nothing but the electoral result of Hollande’s mandate political hecatomb, he who, in 2012, was presented as the man who was to change France and Europe. Alias, the disillusion was one of the factors that, side by side, along with the social crisis, mostly nurtured the far right-wing.
Within this framework, the greatest manipulation took place. Macron, issued from the SP, was conveniently dissociated in order to be promoted as “ a new political expression”. Hamon, the SP official candidate was dropped, in disgrace. A necessary simulation to change to all remain the same. But if the status quo media retreading operated to keep the dominant policy going, it seems to have worked out with Macron, the results equally demonstrate that, on the left, the electoral expression of social contestation towards the central policies and the EU , strengthen. With Macron, the EU and the capital ought to have won a battle, but its victory scents as an historical defeat.