What the French Election Says About France in 2017

Guest: Corry Cropper, PhD, Professor of French, Chair of the Department of French and Italian, BYU; Yvon Le Bras, PhD, Professor of French and Contemporary French Civilization, BYU Since World War II, two political parties have dominated France’s political scene. But neither of those parties has a candidate in the Presidential runoff election slated for May 7. Instead, voters will choose between a far-right candidate named Marine Le Pen whose campaign is unapologetically anti-immigrant and anti-European Union – sound familiar? The other choice for French president is a 39-year-old former investment banker who has never held elected office and created his own political party just a year ago. Emmanuel Macron is his name – he’s pro-business, pro-EU and globalization. The polls show him leading right now.  The choices couldn’t be more different for French voters. And the stakes are high for the European Union, already reeling from the impending Brexit; a “Frexit” could be disastrous.