The French presidential election which will take place in two stages in late April and early May 2017 is without doubt a very depressing spectacle. The main highlight as far as I can see is the acceptance of neo liberalism by the French left.
I will now look at the five main candidates and will give you some personal comments on the candidates.
Firstly Benoit Hamman the candidate of the French socialist party is hampered by the disastrous record of the presidency of Francois Hollande. He claims to be from the left wing of the party, however I cannot see anything left wing about him. He seems to adopt a personal identity stance on politics. Legalise cannabis and euthanasia which I am personally opposed to. There is no mention of public ownership, he just supports a basic income of 800.00 euros a month which is nothing really. Hammon has little chance of making the top two run off.
Francois Fillon the main right wing candidate supports a neo liberal programme. He wants to sack half a miilion civil servants. His only reediming factor is that he wants good relations with Russia. However he has been hampered by a financial scandal.
Jean Luc Melenchon the Left front candidate has a few good policies such as leave NATO although for some reason he wants to bring back conscription. He wants to redistribute wealth through higher taxation, however there is no mention of public ownership in his programme. Foolishly he thinks that you can reform the EU and the Euro currency from the inside. He is sadly mistaken regarding this.
The two other candidates are the favourites two make the final stage run off.
Marine Le Pen the National Front candidate is a populist nationalist. I would not describe her as a fascist as some people would. She is in favour of France leaving NATO and the EU which are of course good policies. She also wants good relations with Russia. She may be anti globalist but there is still a question mark regarding rascism about her.
Emmanuel Macron the favourite to win is the worst of all five candidates. He originates from the extreme right wing of the French socialist party. He is a neo conservative, globalist, corporate fascist war monger. He is in favour of major attacks on the French working class. However if he is elected president he may face a hostile majority in the legislative assembly.
In conclusion what this depressing spectacle shows is the need to build an anti capitalist anti globalist left. Personally I cannot recommend support for any of the five canidates.
kevinclarion 