AMA: if you have questions about what’s at stake in this first round, or what’s going on here, let me know and I’ll do my best to answer in next 30 minutes!
Voting has started in the French elections: expats voting for the 11 “abroad districts”, and residents of regions like Martinique or Guadeloupe away from mainland France, are voting today. Everyone else votes tomorrow. Results starting at 2pm ET.
You asked me the one question i cannot answer! His own cabinet had no idea as of an hour before. One theory is he really thought the left wouldn’t be able to ally; based on election rules, this would have been tremendously helpful to his party. He was entirely wrong.
Another theory is he fancies himself a grand figure of history, and this is as dramatic a power as French presidents have. Sounds silly but in character, and matches early reporting about the background of the few advisors who pushed for this.
Where are you watching these results come in? I can find places to watch the results tomorrow but google isn't providing much in the way of results for the overseas results.
This is where the French constitution gets pretty vague, as to what happens when the assembly and the president aren’t aligned. But the president is left with little formal power. Tradition is that the winning camp decides the PM; there’s little question it would be Bardella if the far-right wins.
Le Pen clearly wants her candidates to be careful of saying most radical stuff rn. If they win in a week, expect laws within weeks to privatize public radio and TV, and other public services; & priority will surely be a harsh immigration bill. Le Pen wants to end birthright citizenship for one.
I believe you said before, the French President is very powerful if his/her party controls The National Assembly. If the far-right take over, do they have any power if Macron is still president?
So the French president is not at all powerful if they don’t have the Assembly, no veto power for instance. The “government” belongs to the majority of the Assembly. So if the far-right wins in 8 days, they’ll be some skirmishes with Macron, but no clear or major institutional obstacle to their rule
