Bobos Versus Fachos: French Presidential Election 2017

So after all the excitement, the result was as everyone had predicted: Marcon v Le Pen for the second round on May 7th.

Unless you’ve been living under a very large rock for the past year you will have heard of the many comparisons made with the recent US elections, Brexit and this Election Présidentielle 2017. The rise of the far-right across Europe. The unreliability of polling, and the impact of mass immigration have led to a genuine fear that Marine Le Pen could succeed where her further-right father didn’t, to become France’s president.

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Qui Est Qui? A guide To Who’s Who In The French Presidential Election 2017

Street art “Bureau de vote” by HEOLART – Photo by Jeanne Menjoulet/Flickr.com

The final presidential debate before the vote on Sunday had 11 candidates and lasted more than three hours on Thursday night.

The format was 15 minutes of an interview with France 2 journalists David Pujadas and Léa Salamé. Each candidate then had 2 minutes and 30 seconds for a conclusion.

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Could This Be The End Of French Socialism?

French National Front leader: Marine Le Pen Credit: Flickr.com/Rémi Noyon

Outsiders often think of France as a bastion of socialism. Strong unions, protection for workers, frequent strikes, a proper healthcare system.

And it is true about the healthcare equality. Although like in many European countries this is changing amid cutbacks and unwieldy waiting lists, the French healthcare system still makes its Irish counterpart look like the crumbling mess that it is.

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