TOW #26 - The French Disconnection

After the great controversy of the 2016 presidential election in the United States, France is experiencing a similar bout of controversy in the battle for leadership within their own country with many of the people split just like the American people. One of the candidates, Marine Le Pen, is a member of the far right National Front party. Le Pen’s campaign is also similar to Trump’s due to the vow to “make France free again” and considering a “Muslim travel ban”. Despite the great fear that exists surrounding the close-campaign, Kamel Daoud of the New York Times says otherwise.

On April 21st, the news source published an article written by Daoud in which he claims that Marine Le Pen will not become president of France. In order to support his view, Daoud reflects on the history of the National Front party and her tactics thus far.

In more recent years, the National Front has been associated with fear mongering among the French people and by supplying a voice to those who are in fear. Daoud rather boldly claims that “the National Front exists to arouse fear, not to govern.” (Daoud 4). Through the use of such a bold statement, Daoud attempts to sway the opinion of his readers, playing with the own fears that they may have about the government. In a time where political discourse is more prominent than ever, it is not difficult to believe that such a claim is true. While this may not be the most effective way to convince an audience, it certainly does work.

To go along with this idea of inspiring fears and playing on anxieties, La Pen has often spoken out about the rise of immigration and terrorism that has occurred in France. A sensitive topic around much of the Western world, the people who are living in fear within France are finding a voice to rally behind. While this would seem like a sure-fire way for her to secure the role of president, La Pen has spoken with many falsehoods in order to bolster her position. The mainstream politics within France completely go against this, believing that democracy will improve and that it does not need to be radically changed.

Overall, I did not find Daoude’s article to be very effective. It mostly seems to be personally opinionated with very little factual basis to reinforce his claims. I also cannot be sure that La Pen will not become president, seeing as the same thing happened with Trump. I do hope, however, that she does not.