France’s President Emmanuel Macron did something extremely foolish — he called a parliamentary election a year early, even though his party had performed poorly in the recent European elections. The result is that his party lost seats, while the radical left gained many seats, and big-spending socially-conservative nationalists gained seats, while conventional conservatives lost seats. The result of the election could be disastrous fiscal policies that cause France’s budget deficit to skyrocket. The parties that gained seats — both the left and the nationalists — support very costly fiscal policies, such as lowering France’s already low retirement age from 64 to 60. If adopted, these policies would result in France’s credit rating being downgraded, interest rates on France’s debt spiking, and its national debt mushrooming. Its economy could go into a deep recession as well, as government spending crowds out productive private investment.
After faring poorly in the first round of the French elections on June 26, Macron’s centrist party allied with the left to keep the nationalists from winning a majority in the second round of the election held on July 7. As a result, the far-left won a large number of seats in France’s parliament, increasing its number of seats from 131 to 182 (France’s parliament has a total of 577 seats). Macron’s centrist coalition fell from 245 seats — a near majority — to 168 seats. The nationalists failed to win the majority they hoped for, but their seats still rose from 89 to 143. The seats held by France’s traditional conservatives fell from 64 to 39.
Both leftists who won and the nationalists who trailed are awful and sympathetic to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Famed Nazi hunter Serge Klarfeld points out that the French far-left is even more dangerous than the far-right. The French far left that gained seats “adores Russia, does not consider Ukraine to really be a country and hates NATO and the United States,” notes the Czech Parliamentarian Jakub Janda.
“The leader of the Left has called French Jews ‘an arrogant minority that lectures to the rest.’ He wouldn’t condemn 10/7. He praised Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. He cheered Putin’s invasion of Crimea. Not exactly something to celebrate or emulate,” notes Philip Klein of the National Review. He is a nut who claimed that the Jews rigged the 2019 UK election. As one observer notes, “Besides his hard left economic policies, he supported Putin’s annexation of Crimea and blamed the invasion of Ukraine on NATO expansion. He … claimed the 2019 UK elections were rigged by the Jews.”
Among the leftists elected to France’s parliament is the “French Antifa leader Raphaël Arnault, classified as S (a threat to the French state by the security services) has been elected Member of Parliament.” Leftists celebrated their gains in the election by rioting in the streets of Paris and other major cities.
“Prominent French Jews issue alarm bells over the antisemitic far-left achieving victory in the parliamentary elections. Paris Chief Rabbi Moshe Sebbag: ‘It is clear today that there is no future for Jews in France. I tell everyone who is young to go to Israel or a more secure country.’ French Jewish Philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy: ‘The left is once again kidnapped by the infamous Melenchon. Divisive language. Hate of the republic on the lips. Around him right now are some incarnations of the new antisemitism. A chilling moment. A stain: Continue to fight against these people.” Journalist Yohann Taieb: ‘Melenchon’s victory is a terrible signal of impunity sent to the anti-Jewish Islamo-Faschists.'”
“The 73-year-old Mayor of Limoges, Émile Roger Lombertie, was beaten up” last night “by far-left activists after he told them to put out a fire they had started while rioting to celebrate their election victory Limoges is a city of 135,000 inhabitants.”
“‘No future for Jews’: Prominent French Jews decry far-left’s gains in vote,” reported a newspaper.
This election will harm France’s finances and economy. As journalist Andrew Neil notes, “French TV” is “full of Left New Popular Front politicians saying they must immediately be allowed to cut the retirement age, increase the minimum wage by a large amount and introduce price controls. The economics of the madhouse. The financial markets will have a field day. France is staring into the abyss.”
Moreover, the “French Left wants to welcome migrant boats and create special status for climate refugees. France will help migrants cross the Mediterranean and give special status to climate refugees,” giving them free healthcare and other taxpayer-provided benefits, reports the London Telegraph. Potentially hundreds of millions of people could enter France claiming to be climate refugees.
“Lowering the retirement age into the teeth of demographic decline is economic and societal suicide, considering how hard it would be to undo. French youth unemployment at 17% now, would go even higher with wage change, and they would need to raise taxes on workers. Bonkers,” says fiscal analyst David Ditch.
As The Economist notes, both the French left and the nationalists are fiscally irresponsible, especially the hard left: “The hard left’s tax and spending splurge could lead to a ‘catastrophe’, according to Olivier Blanchard of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while the hard-right’s programme ‘is like a Christmas tree, without logic or coherence’. Although neither bloc may gain a majority in parliament, France has high levels of public debt and a large deficit. As a result the public finances are more vulnerable than in the past to any divergence from centrist policies or political gridlock, while the national interest bill will swell if spiking risk-premiums become permanently embedded in financial markets.”
