If the situation of our country wasn’t so concerning, with its enormous deficits and a shattered national coherence coming out of the elections, we might be pleased to see that France has found itself on the front page of all foreign media. Our German neighbors even had the live broadcast of the second round face-off, poor them…
This sudden spotlight was not intended to flatter the ego of loud and unruly Gauls. Three main reasons guided the pens and cameras of foreign editorialists in recent weeks:
Political: After the elections of Donald Trump and Theresa May, after the Turkish referendum which practically made Erdogan a new sultan, after the populisms advancing their pawns notably in Hungary and the Netherlands, the election of Marine Le Pen would have definitively tipped the old world into another adventure. Europe, which despite its flaws has ensured growth and peace for 70 years, would not have survived. There would have been, inevitably, a ripple effect elsewhere.
Economic: Our SMEs-SMIs are in distress, strangled by competition from low-cost countries, high charges, and crippling regulations. Yet they form the backbone of our economic fabric, with our large global groups being the lace attracting attention without necessarily ensuring the solidity of the whole. The new president will need to mend things carefully, create conditions for a recovery without further widening public accounts, and enable the restart of employment to reduce this unemployment that ranks us 23rd out of 28 in the EU. They will need to be an artist, as the room for maneuver is as narrow as the impatience is great.
Social: Abroad, the single photo of the riot police officer on fire would have instantly canceled the efforts to promote French tourism. Japanese and Americans are turning away from our destination. They see France as a country at war against terrorism, but also against itself, with violent demonstrators at the end of protests, “shirt tearers,” and incomprehensible repeated strikes…
After more pronounced than ever divisions during this detestable campaign, it will be necessary to piece things together between citizens ranging from bright red to pale pink, from navy blue to sky blue, passing through green and orange. Patch up the suburbs, the cities, and the countryside…
No time to waste, it is high time to get moving…
by Jean-Michel Chevallier, Les Petites Affiches
