https://arab.news/ndmau

Over the past few days in France I have spoken to many people who profoundly fear for the future of Western democracy.

Influential cultural figures and intellectuals spoke eloquently about their trepidation over France’s very identity amid the malign rise of extremes. Second-generation citizens worry that their European nationality could come under threat. Everyone I spoke to was determined to make their votes count.

President Emmanuel Macron warned that France risked being plunged into civil war if either of his “extreme” opponents won a parliamentary majority. The far-right National Rally looks set to emerge as parliament’s largest party after next week’s second round of high-risk snap elections called by Macron after the right’s dominant performance in the European Parliament elections. The left-wing New Popular Front also looks set to perform strongly, auguring an implosion of Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance.

As one French academic put it, if Macron’s snap elections gamble pays off, “he’ll go down as a brilliant strategist.” If not, he’ll “go down in history as somebody who essentially exploded the traditional party system in France and … took a grenade to the institutions of the Fifth Republic.” Far-right leader Marine Le Pen threatened to reduce France’s support for Ukraine and Macron’s ability to control defense policy. While Macron has been one of Ukraine’s fiercest supporters in Europe, Le Pen has a long record of flirtation with Putin. Macron accused her of being on the Kremlin’s payroll.

Financial markets have been spooked at outlandish........

© Arab News Pakistan