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The author is a professor at Queen Mary University of London and the author of the book “What’s wrong with France”? ‘
Voters from all over France will go to polling stations this month Regional Council ElectionThe results will be scrutinized carefully to find clues about the outcome of the president and the legislative session next year. electionHowever, this national political focus, no matter how compelling it may be, may miss some important broader lessons.
This is not to deny the “dress rehearsal” value of these regional elections.For many voters, a candidate sent by a political party will act as a proxy for President Emmanuel Macron or Marina Le Pen, The leader of the far-right Kuomintang, he seems to be his main opponent again-or “neither of them”.
In municipal mayoral elections, the political affiliation of the candidates—if any—is usually more important than their position on local issues. But the opposite applies to those who wish to fulfill the transportation, business development, and public health responsibilities assigned to the 13 regions.
In a typical verbose Interview Macron published in an elegant quarterly Zadig on May 27, talking about the fear and anger that prevail in French society. With a bold and forward-looking vision, he saw that this sentiment pushed (French) civilization into a new Renaissance.He described that he effortlessly penetrated into hostile terrain 2018-19 Yellow vest Protest movement Renaissance as “one of the founding ideas of our country”: Violent Jacques, or peasant uprising.
This “legacy” whimsy revolves around this core event of Macron’s presidency-the large-scale mobilization of the working poor, mainly from economically and socially marginalized small towns and villages.Geographer Christopher Guilu Solved the problem of “marginalization” Influential book Published seven years ago Yellow vest Rushed to the scene.
The most recent political headlines in France are Law and order In the suburbs and surrounding areas where the predominantly Muslim immigrant population is concentrated. Controversy broke out in April after an open letter A group of retired generals Civil war warning.Although they were mentioned sympathetically in that letter, Yellow vest Movement is not nativist: its core dissatisfaction is social and economic.
The root of the peripheral dilemma lies in deindustrialization, which can now be traced back to half a century ago.But when they lived a meager life, today’s Yellow vest Blame them for their hardship Not economic history, but the government-because of the increase in taxes and the deterioration of public services.
Critics of Guilluy’s paper refute The per capita national expenditure in the poorest areas is more than one-third higher than the national average. I see no real contradiction here. The 2015 regional governance reorganization integrated the local public services of a small number of population centers, which should serve the hinterland of rural towns and villages.Those in trouble did not feel the impact of recorded expenditures Sparsely populated area Only see the closure of schools and post offices, as well as small shops and cafes that often play social roles.
Start preselection Provincial inspections In early June, Macron seemed to be eager to show how much he identified with the stressful area-rather than share something Christian Bobbin The Paris oligarch arrogantly regards the periphery as a “dark pool of imminent dissatisfaction and resistance.”
What a cold-blooded political activist might write off Pierre Vermeeren Calling the abandoned territories an unrecoverable “Le Pen country” is based on the obvious security assumption that the number of residents on the periphery is smaller than the population of the metropolis. However, these assumptions do not seem to be safe enough now.In sharp contrast to the last presidential election in 2017, the runoff between Macron and Le Pen was Two-to-one landslide, Newest Harris Poll It shows that the president’s expected winning profit margin has now shrunk to 54-46%. This discovery must point to general fear and anger, but there may not be so much about the new French Renaissance.
Macron told Zadig that the fundamental problem in France is not a centralized bureaucracy, but the vested interests of corporatism. I hold the opposite view: breaking the deadlock in France must start with more radical decentralization. Although this is only the beginning, any such results of this month’s elections will bring a liberating shock of responsibility and competition.
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