The Eurocrats are celebrating, but I’m not sure that they ought to be.
Yes, the French will have to put up with more Macron, but Marine Le Pen has been gaining fairly steadily. In 2012, she couldn’t break out with less than 18%. Last time around, she made it to 33% against Macron, and this time she appears to have picked up over 41%.
A loss is still a loss, but there’s no denying the reality that she’s made gains that would have appeared impossible in the past.
Considering the general state of affairs in France, anyone running against Macron ought to have done better, but he’s been far luckier in his opponents than in his own political talents.
That said the trend lines, even apart from these past two years of hell, suggest that a more significant revolution is coming.
I’m not cheerleading Le Pen here, but it’s increasingly likely that France will see a leader who comes from far more outside the Overton Window than a mediocrity like Macron.
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