By Cécile Feuillatre — Such is Marine Le Pen’s aversion to the European Union that the French far-right leader demanded the removal of its star-spangled flag from a TV studio before agreeing to a recent interview. Her chief rival in the race for the French presidency, centrist Emmanuel Macron, pointedly waved an EU flag from the podium at a campaign rally the next day.
Love it or loathe it, the European Union has become a hot-button issue in the election, fanning fears far beyond France in the wake of Britain’s Brexit vote that a ‘Frexit’ could doom the 60-year-old bloc.
“Rarely has the European issue held such a pre-eminent place on all the candidates’ platforms as in this electoral campaign,” said analyst Pierre Vimont of the Carnegie Europe think tank.
In the five years since France’s last presidential vote, Europe has seen a massive migrant crisis and a rise in populism, both contributing to the Brexit vote.
Like Macron, conservative candidate Francois Fillon is bullish on Brussels, highlighting the Franco-German leadership axis and defending the euro. Arrayed on the other side are Le Pen, who advocates leaving the EU immediately, and hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who demands a renegotiation of key treaty provisions.
“Positions have hardened,” said Manuel Lafont Rapnouil of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Le Pen “is riding the wave of Brexit” and Donald Trump’s surprise accession to the White House, he said.
Le Pen stresses economic, monetary and territorial “sovereignty”, along with a “national preference” for French citizens in the workplace.
Melenchon vows to end the “nightmare” of an EU that submits its members to “the dictatorship of the banks”.
But both promise a showdown with Brussels and say they are certain to come out on top given the strength of France within the bloc.
Le Pen says she will launch six months of talks aimed at withdrawing France from the visa-free Schengen area, as well as from the euro, before calling a referendum on whether the French want to leave the EU.
Melenchon has a two-pronged approach: “change the EU or leave it”: a Plan A by which France will renegotiate its membership terms and a Plan B for a unilateral Frexit. —AFP
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