Voila! Left-Liberal Alliance Crushes Far Right in France - The Monday AM Quickie 7/8/24
I can't remember the last time I had good news to write up on Friday and Monday both. Let's make it a trend! - Corey
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THE BIG NEWS
Fear of Far Right Takeover Drives Record Turnout in France, Carries Left Coalition to Victory
An alliance of leftist parties formed only three weeks ago, the Nouveau Front Populaire, named after the anti-fascist coalition of the World War II era, stunned the world by winning more votes than any other grouping in the second round of France's snap parliamentary elections yesterday. "It's a huge relief," one voter tells the Guardian. "We were so scared."
The neo-fascist Rassemblement National's victory in the first round of voting fueled fear not only among French voters but across the democratic world, as corrupt far-right authoritarians seek to gain permanent control over national governments by flooding the media with xenophobic propaganda. But with turnout higher in the second round than in any election in four decades, the RN finished third place, behind President Emmanuel Macron's liberal coalition, crushing the right's dream of an absolute majority. As Le Monde reports, the result leaves France with a hung parliament, and the left having the strongest claim to a mandate:
"'The president has the duty to call on the Nouveau Front Populaire to govern,' declared left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The leader of La France Insoumise (LFI, radical left) party spoke from the restaurant La Rotonde Stalingrad, in northern Paris, where his party held its election night event, just after 8 pm. Mélenchon praised the electorate's efforts to obtain 'a result that was said to be impossible' – a victory for the left. 'Our people have clearly rejected the worst-case scenario. Tonight, the RN is far from having an absolute majority,' he declared, adding that this was 'an immense relief for the millions of people who make up the new France.'
"'A majority has made a different choice for the country' than that of the far right, added Mélenchon, believing that now 'the will of the people must be confirmed.'
"'The president must bow' to the results of the left, he said, adding that the NFP alliance 'will apply nothing but its program, all of its program.' The projected breakdown among the left-wing parties was 74 seats for LFI, 59 for the Socialists, 28 for the Greens, and 9 to the Communists.
The French left program includes undoing Macron's unpopular decision to raise the retirement age, instituting a wealth tax, and recognizing a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal offered his resignation to Macron yesterday, proclaiming "the start of a new era." That era began with well-earned celebrations, and not only in Stalingrad square. "Cries of joy also rang out in Republique plaza in eastern Paris, with people spontaneously hugging strangers and several minutes of nonstop applause after the projections landed," the Associated Press reports. RN voters, meanwhile, tell BBC News they are "sad, disappointed, struck down," predictably casting themselves as the "victims of a dishonest alliance led by Macron to block us from power." La connerie! The only dishonesty came from RN, who blamed immigrants for all of France's problems.
The true silent majority made itself heard yesterday in France. These election results vindicate the strategy of uniting the left and center against the far right, while demonstrating that such an alliance can benefit the rising left even more than it does incumbent liberals. Beyond political inspiration, the New Popular Front's victory offers something perhaps even more rare and valuable, an antidote to premature despair: hope.
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ON THE SHOW TODAY
7/8: Happy Monday! Sam and Emma speak with Brad Onishi, writer, co-host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast, and founder of Axis Mundi Media, to discuss his recent book Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism – And What Comes Next.
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PARTING WORDS
"Some folks need killing! It's time for somebody to say it. It's not a matter of vengeance. It's not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It's a matter of necessity!
-- North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, endorsing extrajudicial killing in a church in the small town of White Lake on June 30. No press was present for Robinson's rant but The New Republic obtained a video shared by the church, whose pastor defended Robinson.
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