France: Where Sanity Still Holds Political Meaning

From Indonesia, China, India, the Middle East, Russia to Europe and America; the world seems to be flooded with Authoritarian Politicians taking power. Anti-liberal, ethno-nationalistic, intolerant, non-secular politics are taking a stressfully-strong grip on modern world politics.Given this global context, political theorists wonder if this trends spells the end of secular, liberal democracies. To save humanity from the trials of the far-right, nations must collectively stand against this stark “anti-global, anti-liberal' movement. One of the few countries expected to rise to fill that role is France, the birthplace of contemporary secularism and liberal democratic order. The 2017 French election naturally provides the fulcrum for modern European politics. This fulcrum seems to be shifting slightly, as the first election round showed that the French are ready to open-up decades old Centrist arguments.The French political system is constantly adapting whilst remaining in-line with their European-centrist origins. That persistent regulation reflects continental Europe's equally persistent divergence from the U.S. and the U.K- whereas these English-speaking giants have entertained growingly polar political debates, France holds tightly to centrist-driven politics. This firm middle-ground leaves ample room for political divergence, as seen with Le Pen and Melenchon, whilst maintaining a relatively-stable foundation to return to. Europe’s far-right populist parties have been rising in many countries amidst the refugee crisis, a series of terror attacks and a consistent anti-EU sentiment. Although many of these parties have existed for decades, they have been encouraged by both Brexit and the election of Trump.Voters in the major continental nations may have grown restless with French President Francois Hollande's seemingly-indifferent leadership, or with the recent influx of refugees from the Middle East; but these voters do not grow so desperate as to choose a Donald Trump or to inflict Brexit-style turmoil.However, Europe’s far-right views now as the prime time for a populist surge. Said far-right members promise this revival would kick elite, establishment politicians out of government and return power to their (narrowly defined version of) the people.   “France’s presidential election race has been a volatile spectacle, as unexpected candidates have surged into the limelight whilst scandals involving some made the outcome uncertain”-Nick Robins-Early Unlike some other recent elections and referenda (such as the Brexit referendum and the Trump election), on May 7th, 2017, the French overwhelmingly voted for sanity, rationality, and a full recognition of reality. The first polling projections gave Emmanuel Macron 65.9% of the vote, versus just 34.1% for Marine Le Pen.The French are now clearly defined as more sensible and less fearful of the future than either the Americans with the 2016 presidential election or the British Brexit referendum.In continuation of sanity, if German chancellor Angela Merkel gets elected for her fourth chancellery term in 2018 -with the odds currently in her favor, the core axis of Europe will stabilize. This stabilization will provide much needed political regulation to a recently . While Trump Administration gets its act together on foreign policy which is in shambles by design or by ineptitude; rejuvenated Europe will be a much-stabilizing political force for the whole world. “It is Europe and the world who are watching us”- Emmanuel Macron