Socks with the image of some candidates for the French elections. /
Outgoing President Emmanuel Macron has refused to debate with his opponents before the first round
The electoral campaign for the French presidential elections has been overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. The French go to the polls this Sunday to vote in the first round of the elections with a feeling that there has been no real electoral campaign.
Outgoing President Emmanuel Macron has refused to debate with his opponents before the first round, arguing that his predecessors in office did not do so either when they stood for re-election. Although there have been rallies and electoral movements of the candidates throughout the country, much of this watered-down campaign has taken place in the media or on social networks.
Beyond the war in Ukraine, the candidates have tried to impose other issues in the campaign, with more or less success. A few days before the first round, 67% of French people say they are interested in the campaign and what the candidates say. These are the main themes of this atypical campaign:
the ukrainian war
The war in Ukraine has captured the attention of the French media and politicians and has pushed the electoral campaign into the background. Macron has played a prominent role in trying to mediate between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. His role as president in times of war made him rise several points in the polls when the conflict broke out, although this effect has been diluted over time.
The candidates, who in the past had been more pro-Russian like the leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon or the extreme right candidates Éric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen, have been forced to readjust their positions with the outbreak of the conflict, especially after the massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha.
Loss of purchasing power
The loss of purchasing power is the issue that most worries the French and is one of the star issues of this election campaign. The candidates promise that if they are elected president they will increase the minimum interprofessional salary, lower social contributions or give more aid to young people.
Immigration
Immigration is one of the favorite topics of the extreme right. Le Pen has promised a referendum on his immigration program if he wins the election.
The ultra Zemmour has announced that if he is elected president he will create “a Ministry of Remigration”, in charge of expelling undocumented immigrants and foreign criminals to their countries of origin.
Conservative candidate Valérie Pécresse wants to establish annual immigration quotas, while several candidates on the left promise to regularize the undocumented.
Borders
The candidates of the right and the extreme right promise that they will control the borders and fight against illegal immigration, better than Macron has done in this five-year period.
Macron wants to reform the Schengen area to guarantee both “the free movement of people in all security” and “protect the external borders of the EU”. It also asks for more resources for Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. And he wants to establish “an emergency support mechanism” at the EU’s external borders in the event of a crisis.
Retirement
The health crisis forced Macron to park the pension reform that he had planned to carry out. The candidates are divided on what the retirement age should be. While some candidates, like Mélenchon, want the French to be able to retire at 60, others, like the socialist Anne Hidalgo, are committed to maintaining the current retirement age (62 years), while Macron and Pécresse propose delaying it to 65 years.
Citizen security
Citizen security is another of the favorite topics of the right and the extreme right, who accuse Macron of not having done anything in the face of the increase in delinquency and criminality. Conservative candidate Valérie Pécresse has promised that if she is elected president she will bring “the Kärcher (pressure cleaner) out of the basement” to “clean the neighbourhoods” of criminals and drug dealers.
Nuclear energy
The debate on the future of nuclear energy in France divides the candidates. Macron, Pécresse, Le Pen and Zemmour want to relaunch the nuclear program and build more reactors in France, while from the environmentalist party and from the left the candidates are committed to promoting renewables and progressively getting out of nuclear, which currently produces around 70% of electricity generation in France.
Europe
The pro-European Macron was heavily criticized by the opposition for placing a European flag alone under the Arc de Triomphe to kick off the rotating French presidency of the Council of the European Union in January and not placing a French flag.
The most eurosceptic candidates have moderated their proposals against Brussels in these elections. For example, Le Pen has abandoned his proposals to leave the EU and the euro, which he defended five years ago.