In the second round of voting in the French presidential election held on the 24th, Macron defeated the far-right candidate Le Pen to win re-election, and the EU was full of joy.
German Chancellor Schoerz said French voters "cast a strong vote of confidence in Europe today". Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called Macron's victory "good news for the whole of Europe". U.S. President Joe Biden also congratulated Macron on his re-election in a social media post.
Macron is the first French president in more than 20 years to win a second term, but Le Pen's election results also mark the closest far-right party has come to power in French history, according to Agence France-Presse. While acknowledging defeat, Le Pen said that "the game is not over yet."
Le Pen said she and her party had achieved a "shining victory" in the election and was "historic", with her more than 40% of the vote meaning the far right was already in an "excellent position" in the French parliamentary elections in June.
Le Pen's words are not unfounded. The far right is not the mainstream of French society, but choosing Macron is also a helpless move for many people. During the election campaign, many people expressed their opposition to Le Pen and against Macron. Compared with the international situation, the French are more concerned about prices and the prospects of life. Inflation in France reached 4.5 percent in March, the highest level since the 1980s, according to related data. French Economy Minister Le Maire said inflation would remain high in 2022 due to the energy crisis.
In the case of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, especially the Continuous Increase in Sanctions against Russia by the United States and the West, in addition to the menacing inflation, Europe is likely to face a series of serious shocks such as refugees and security, and the current situation may have just begun. In this sense, Macron was able to defeat Le Pen with a clear advantage in the second round, and now the social contradictions have not yet intensified due to inflation. In the National Assembly elections two months later, the election may not be easy to say.
Qatar's Al Jazeera believes that France is facing the dilemma of social division, and the French presidential election will have a huge impact on the development prospects of France and even Europe as a whole.
Since the Beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict, there has been a serious internal confrontation in Europe around the extent to which it is involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and whether to cut off the import of Russian-produced natural gas and oil, which has inevitably manifested itself politically.
According to the calculations of the Bundesbank model, an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and a blanket ban on imports of Russian energy will plunge the German economy into recession. Representatives of German scientific, political, cultural and social groups wrote an open letter to Scholz on the 22nd, calling on the German government not to meet the requirements for the delivery of heavy weapons to the Ukrainian side. It is reported that the German Bundestag will discuss the further supply of weapons to Ukraine. People from all walks of life in Germany who signed the open letter hope to be able to convey their demands to the parliamentarians.
The United States, which has been across the ocean, is not immune from influence. The Labor Department said the consumer price index for March rose 8.5 percent year-over-year, its highest gain since 1981. Record high inflation, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to Biden's continued slump in support. According to the Newsweek website, the latest gallup poll shows that Biden's fifth quarter as president (from January 20 to April 19) has a support rate of 41.3%, only higher than Trump since Eisenhower. The situation is clearly not conducive to Democrats achieving control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been going on for more than two months, and inflationary pressures have swept the globe. If the conflict is not ended and the crisis is mitigated as soon as possible, political instability is likely to follow. So, who will bear the brunt of it? (Author: He Yu)
New Media, Chinese Global Program Center, China Central Radio and Television Corporation
Executive Producer/Hong Lin, Yang Fengtao
Producer/Wang Xin, Yang Xiuwen
Editor-in-Chief/Lu Guang
Editors/Hu Ge, Guo Ran
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