The victory of Emanuel Macron in the French Presidential elections is a symbol of hope for humanity at a time when xenophobia has led to shocking and dangerous election results in Britain and the United States of America. It is a symbol of hope reminiscent of the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential elections in 2009.
In American history, black people have been enslaved, have suffered segregation from white people in the spheres of education, medical care and transportation and have generally been considered inferier to white people, both legally and socially. November 4th 2009 was an important date in the ongoing struggle to smash down the structures of hatred inherent in this history, a history in which at one time a black person didn’t have the right to vote in Presidential elections but in which now a black person has been elected President. Obama was chosen to lead 320 million people, to make decisions which would impact on the lives of each and everyone of these people and, given the influence of the United States globally, the lives of everyone in the world. It was a monumental symbol of hope in human progress celebrated the world over.
In 2016, xenophobia in Britain and in the United States contributed to results in both the EU referendum and the US presidential elections which left hope in the altruistic nature of humanity at a low ebb. Those seeking physical and metaphorical barriers between people from different countries, an end to international cooperation and an end to the goal of equal opportunities and equal rights for all people, regardless of nationality, won important elections which will have ramifications felt far beyond the countries themselves.
During campaigning for the US Presidential elections, Donald Trump incited anti-Mexican and anti-Muslim hatred. He brandished Mexicans ‘drug dealers, criminals and rapists’ and called for a ‘complete and total shutdown of all Muslims entering the United States’. Once in office, he backed this up with executive order 13769 which attempted to block entry into the US for people from seven countries, a staggering 217 million people. This behaviour normalises racism and islamophobia with horrifying consequences for society.
Since the EU referendum in the UK, hate crimes have been on the rise. Polish children in Cambridgeshire have received cards calling them ‘vermin’ who ‘must leave’ and in London a man was heard shouting that ‘we’ve got our country back and next I’ll blow that fucking mosque up’. People feel empowered to express such distressing views when politicians such as Nigel Farage can claim with impunity that ‘allowing Syrian refugees into Britain would put UK women at risk of assault’. The UN blames British MP’s for the increase in hate crime in the UK since the referendum result, claiming that ‘divisive and anti-immigrant rhetoric fuelled hate crimes’ adding that ‘prominent figures had failed to condemn racist abuse and created prejudices during the campaign’.
In the second round of the 2017 French Presidential election, voters had to choose between the staunchly nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen, who promised the same anti-foreigner policies which had found support in Britain and the US, and the liberal candidate Emanuel Macron.
Marine Le Pen is the leader of the Front National, a political party created by her convicted racist father, Jean-Marie Le Pen who has repeatedly described the Nazi gas chambers as a ‘detail of history’. Marine Le Pen hailed Britain’s vote to leave the EU as ‘the most important event since the fall of the Berlin wall’ and Donald Trump’s election victory as ‘an additional stone in the building of a new world.’ In a speech in Paris she said of undocumented immigrants ‘If you come to our country, don’t expect to be taken care of, to be looked after’.
Her opponent, Emmanuel Macron was formerly economy minister for the socialist party. He ran a pro-EU campaign seeking closer cooperation between countries to solve international problems and rejected the populist, anti-foreigner policies of the Leave campaigners in Britain and Donald Trump in the US. Interestingly, Macron was publicly endorsed by Barack Obama whose own presidency was so important in empowering oppressed communities. He said he was ‘endorsing Macron because of how important this election was’. It was a chance for France to say NO to xenophobia, islamophobia and cowardice and a chance to slow the momentum of hatred which has been shown to be gathering pace in the UK and the US.
France voted overwhelmingly in favour of Emanuel Macron who won 65 % of the vote. The margin of victory is a powerful symbol in itself when compared to the 52 % that leave campaigners were able to secure in the UK’s EU referendum and the fact that Hilary Clinton actually won 2.9 million more votes than Donald Trump in the US Presidential election.
In his first statement after the results were anounced, Macron said that ‘a new page of our long history has been turned’. He now has a huge responsibility to fight bigotry and xenophobia on the international stage just as he did in France and to move our collective history forward. France and Emanuel Macron have given hope to all those apalled by the normalisation of prejudice in Britain and the US. ‘En Marche’ towards a better life for all in all countries.
Jon Osler
References
Image: Emanuel Macron (Creative commons)
1) The Guardian, Donald Trump’s tirade on Mexico’s ‘drugs and rapists’ outrages US latinos, 2015
2) BBC News, Donald Trump urges ban on Muslims coming to US, 2015
3) The Independent, Hate crimes rise by up to 100 per cent across England and Wales, figures reveal, 2017
4) The Guardian, After a campaign scarred by bigotry, it’s become OK to be racist in Britain, 2016
5) BBC News, UN blames UK politicians for Brexit hate crime spike, 2016
6) Le monde, Marine Le Pen célèbre le « Brexit », 2016
7) Liberation, Marine Le Pen prône la fin de l’education gratuite pour les enfants étrangers, 2016
8) Le Monde, Jean-Marie Le Pen condamné pour ses propos sur les chambres à gas, 2016
9) Le Figaro, La victoire de Trump marque «l’émergence d’un nouveau monde», 2016
10) En Marche, Message de Barack Obama, 2017