The Future of Europe Will Also Be Decided in France
Recent events have attracted the attention of the experts of leading countries in Europe and the world. All because of Russia’s unprecedented expansion with escalating tensions and the deployment of large groups of troops around Ukraine. Nobody knows exactly what Putin is trying to achieve, and according to US experts, the Kremlin master himself may not know either. It is the war that remains virtually the only real opportunity for Putin to preserve the unity of his nation by mobilizing it to fight the created by his propaganda non-existent enemy — NATO and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, international life in Europe and around the world continues. Following the change of German government in the autumn of 2021, the next EU country to prepare for a change of leadership is France. The presidential election in the spring of 2022 could be the starting point in the new term of the current French President Emmanuel Macron (if he wins the election), or the beginning of a new political future for the country with a new President.
A rift has opened up in France’s political landscape: on the one hand, those who consider themselves progressive and pro-European; on the other hand, those who are skeptical of the EU or reject it in defense of their nation’s interests. This rift, importantly, runs through the traditional pattern of beliefs from right to left. Far-left Jean-Luc Melanchon and far-right Marine Le Pen criticize the EU, using almost identical arguments.
Five years ago, Macron turned his commitment to the EU into an important argument in his own election campaign. When France holds elections in April 2022, two opposing ideas on Europe’s political future will be put to the vote again. Macron will advocate for greater “European sovereignty”; Melanchon and Le Pen — for returning to national cooperation. Therefore, the future of Europe will also be decided in France.
The article is available in Ukrainian
