Macron
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On Sunday 19 June, a long electoral sequence in France that began on 10 April during the first round of the presidential election ended. Although this first election only had one winner, Emmanuel Macron re-elected in the second round against Marine Le Pen, the tripartition that has worked the political field since 2017 was heavily reflected in the results and now structures a national assembly divided between the group Ensemble, the Nupes and the RN. Also, The Republicans were more resilient than in the ...
read more "The Re-Parlamentarization of French Politics"
read more "The Re-Parlamentarization of French Politics"
While the headiest dreams – of a radical left National Assembly with Jean-Luc Mélenchon as its Prime Minister – have been dashed, the Popular Union (NUPES) led by La France Insoumise (LFI) emerges from yesterday’s legislative elections as the principal opposition to a weakened President Macron.
There is no doubt as to the election night’s biggest loser. The only question is whether Macron should have considered actually campaigning, debating, putting forth a program, not ...
read more "Quick Take on the French Legislative Elections: Wins for the Far Right and Broad Left, Macron in Trouble"
read more "Quick Take on the French Legislative Elections: Wins for the Far Right and Broad Left, Macron in Trouble"
A story of industrial decline, economic abandonment, and the rise of the far right in rural France***Version française ci-dessous***
After the Coal Rush: A story of industrial decline, economic abandonment, and the rise of the far right in rural France. How did things get to this point, and where can we go from here? Incisive political commentary in this deeply personal essay from the outstanding Colin Kinniburgh.
If there’s one part of the world that’s synonymous with wine, it’s the region of Burgundy, in east-central France. Yet when my mother’s family moved...
read more "After the Coal Rush"
read more "After the Coal Rush"
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The French left has just over a year to get itself organised to win the presidency. But between the health crisis, which is paralysing political dynamics, and the profusion of candidates seemingly in the running, the trials to overcome are such that – even in the face of a weakened Emmanuel Macron – hope currently appears faint.
Will 2021 be a year full of twists and surprises? Many on the left are hoping for a small miracle, given the desperate political landscape emerging ahead of the presidential election. "We ...
read more "2021: Year Zero for the French Left"
read more "2021: Year Zero for the French Left"
An interview with Ethan EarleRecent weeks have seen massive protests across France, bringing to a close a year that was turbulent even by French political standards. In this interview, Season in Hell editor Ethan Earle discusses Islamophobia and anti-racism, the growing powers of the security state and the rising voices of people in the streets.
Alexandra Spaeth: There have been protests and unrest across France in recent weeks. Can you tell us what they are about, and who is taking part in them?
Ethan Earle: On 24 November, ...
read more "Macron’s Authoritarian Turn Drives Turnout in the Streets"
read more "Macron’s Authoritarian Turn Drives Turnout in the Streets"
New Caledonia at a tipping pointRecent independence referendums in the South Pacific French territory of New Caledonia have taken place under the wary eye of a French Republic that could – for the first time in its history – take part in a peaceful and democratic decolonisation process. The rising New Caledonian independence movement should be understood by anyone interested in the possibility of living in a post-colonial world.
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Should we begin the story in 1853, when New Caledonia was 'annexed' by France under Emperor...
read more "Decolonising the 21st Century"
read more "Decolonising the 21st Century"
History is the fruit of power, but power itself is never so transparent that its analysis becomes superfluous. The ultimate mark of power may be its invisibility; the ultimate challenge, the exposition of its roots.
Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past
A generation of Afro-French people who have long experienced erasure by the universalist myth is rising up. The demonstrations of spring 2020 underlined the need to examine the blind spots in French history and question the flaws in the republican ideal, and ultimately to build a shared, truly universalist ...
read more "France’s racial spring"
read more "France’s racial spring"
Climate politics between direct democracy and depoliticisationOn 21 June, the Citizens’ Convention on Climate submitted its 150 recommendations to the French president, aimed at enabling France to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, in line with the Paris Agreement target that the country signed up to at COP21 in 2015.
The establishment and outcomes of this Convention can be seen as historic in their own right. While the Convention and its final report are partly a result of and a response to the gilets ...
read more "The Citizens’ Convention on Climate"
read more "The Citizens’ Convention on Climate"
Takeaways from the French municipal elections and what comes nextOn Sunday the 28th of June, voters across France went to the polls to decide the municipal governments of 4.820 communes, including all of the country’s largest cities.
The vote took place a record-breaking 100 days after the 1st round election, in which around 35.000 communes voted in the EU’s largest single municipal election. With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing a second-round delay – leaving those municipal governments with no 1st round winner in a strange limbo at a critical ...
read more "In the wake of Sunday’s “green wave”"
read more "In the wake of Sunday’s “green wave”"
An Interview with Éric Piolle***Version française ci-dessous***
The mayor of Grenoble has assembled a broad coalition of Greens, the Left and citizen groups to do a different sort of politics in the city of 158.000, located in Southeast France at the foot of the Alps. On the cusp of his second term, Éric Piolle sat down with Ethan Earle to discuss Covid, Macron and the “humanist arc” he seeks to build.
Ethan Earle (EE): What can you tell us about ...
read more "“We must make the commons a fulcrum for our society, allowing everyone to have security and give meaning to their life.”"
read more "“We must make the commons a fulcrum for our society, allowing everyone to have security and give meaning to their life.”"