2017 French Presidential Election

Text and images by Chen Chi-Hsiang. For nearly thirty years, French political power has swung left and right. In the 2017 presidential election, the Socialist Party split over governance strategies, while the traditional right was overshadowed by corruption allegations and internal strife. Both traditional factions hit a snag; although their political dances differed in style, they were largely similar because national sovereignty had been surrendered to the EU, adhering to its neoliberal path. Presidents could only govern within limited scopes, unable to tell the truth to the people. How would this game continue? They packaged their platforms with sweet words—hardly "stupid" lies, but every time they took office, they bit their own tongues. The people woke from their dreams feeling deceived again. This time, the Socialist presidential candidate seemed even more ashamed to face the public. It is understandable that no sitting French president dared to seek re-election. Why not try someone else?

There are five major candidates (all familiar faces, career politicians) and six minor ones (less known to the public, including some excellent candidates). The major candidates show huge differences in governance views: on immigration, labor reform, trade, security and defense, capitalism versus anti-capitalism, neoliberalism versus social welfare systems, and the EU—whether to reform it or exit it. Major right- and left-wing politicians and capitalist-backed candidates occupy all media, while insightful minor candidates are ignored and silenced. Is this democracy? Candidates speaking for financial and corporate powers dominate every page and magazine cover. What kind of democracy is this? Alas! Presidential candidates are sold like commodities; mediocrity is whitewashed as genius. In elections selling personal image rather than policy, where is the selection of the virtuous and capable? Will it be another puppet president? Poll manipulation is even worse. Could we fall into the same dilemma as the US presidential election?

Disappointed with both sides, the far-right and far-left seem favored? Everyone knows to select the virtuous and capable. Which candidate can guide the country toward a macro vision? (Within the EU framework, one seems to do nothing but talk nonsense.) But in comfortable lives, long subjected to mass media brainwashing that restricts critical thinking, how can people see the truth with sharp eyes? Every election, people are manipulated by mass media (TV, newspapers, polls), losing judgment due to ignorance, anxiety, and fear of the future, especially under threats of terror (economic and life safety). Fear blinds us; awakening is difficult. But the determination to understand the truth will lead us to face problems realistically. The future is in everyone’s hands. Wake up. What message did the terrorist attack on the Champs-Élysées in Paris release the night before yesterday? Who knows? It seems everything has its own arrangement.

Here are the slogans for the French presidential election: Traditional conservative right-wing Fillon (Francois Fillon): France's Desire. Far-left representative Jean-Luc Mélenchon: People's Power. Far-right Marine Le Pen: Make France Orderly Again. Capitalist spokesperson Emmanuel Macron: France Must Be an Opportunity for All. Socialist Benoit Hamon: Make France's Heart Beat Again. François Asselineau: The Choice of History. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan: France Stands Up. Anti-capitalist party Philippe Poutou: Our Lives Are Not Their Profit. Jacques Cheminade: Liberate Finance, Occupy [the system]. Jean Lassalle: The Time Has Come. Communist Workers' Fight Alliance Nathalie Arthaud: Listen to the Voice of the Working Class.