Macron vs Le Pen: the Stakes Are High

LEFT: Prime Minister Theresa May welcomes France President Emmanuel Macron to the UK-France Summit, at Sandhurst. January 18, 2018. Photo courtesy of Number 10. RIGHT: Reception from Santiago Abascal to Marine Le Pen at the Madrid Summit 01.28.2022 Photo Vox Espana.

In the WSJ’s “Potomac Watch,” Kim Strassel explains how a win by Marine le Pen over Macron, the incumbent, could be “seismic” for NATO, “in a very bad way.” Marine Le Pen, who is running against Macron, has openly called to pull France of out NATO’s integrated command.

Marine Le Pen certainly has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She, however, also has warned of the risk of France even engaging in sanctions that “could have economic consequences.”

Ms. Strassel believes the entire future of the trans-Atlantic response to Ukraine potentially could upended if France, a big player, suddenly comes under the helm of Marine le Pen. What concerns Ms. Strassel is that a majority of French voters now looks as though they were actively supporting candidates that are anti-NATO, anti-US, and somewhat hostile to Europe.

… meanwhile, all of this comes in, you have to remember, in the bigger context of some already big changes in Europe that has left it a little adrift. Whether it be Brexit and Britain getting out of the EU, or whether it was the longtime chancellorship of Angela Merkel ending, which has certainly thrown Germany into a new era of politics. So I think having this as well, it would just be very unsettling.