The polls open today for the election in France with Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron leading in the polls with 22.1 and 24 percent respectively. Experts have warned that if Le Pen were to win, it could signal the end of the European Union. However, as Trump has proved within the current political climate, anything could happen. The other main contenders are Francois Filon, Jean-Luc Melenchon and Benoit Hamon.

There are also 50,000 police officers and 7,000 soldiers deployed across the country’s polling stations in a bid to keep the public safe.

This follows a recent attack that saw a police officer killed.

Voting begins

The top two will go through to face-off against each other on May 7th and with 11 contenders overall including a shepherd and man who wants to colonise Mars, only 4 have a realistic chance of going through. With current polls suggesting that it will be fight between Macron and Le Pen, due to the margin of error, the likes of Melenchon or Filon could make it through. The exit poll will be released at 7pm UK time and that will confirm who will make it through.

Polls show that 1 in 3 of voters remain uncertain about who they will vote for. The last time the National Front made it through to the second round was in 2002, with Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine’s father, as leader.

However, after both left and right-wing voters galvanised, the conservative leader Jaques Chirac crushed the far-right party. Marine Le Pen has since tried to ‘de-demonise’ them by even attempting to expel her father after comments about the holocaust.

Left, or right?

Benoit Hamon is experiences a collapsed in support after the Socialist Party has currently failed in its endeavour to improve the ailing economy.

However, those are largely down to policies by current president Francois Hollande and the lack of a majority in the National Assembly. If Macron were to win then it would signal that far-right nationalism can only go so far and would mean that a more pragmatic socialist would be in power, after he quit the government to form his own left-centrist party.

A Le Pen victory could cause the collapsed of the EU after she has cited that France would leave the Euro, experts warning it could be economically dangerous. It would also mean that an openly fascist party would be in power despite attempts by Le Pen to reform the party, she has significant traits of her father’s intolerance. With hardened policies that would see France’s borders become hardened and the Burqa being banned. Filon, who is benefitting from the government’s failures would be a comprise between most supporters.

Instability

The concern is if Le Pen wins, this would create more uncertainty and instability across the world, with far-right leaders growing in confidence following Brexit and Trump.

But as Trump is very quickly proving, the far-right have little sense when it comes to economic and foreign policy. He has already created uncertainty with Russia and North Korea that could theoretically lead to a third world war. Highly militarised actions are showing that only death and destruction will come from it.

The world needs stability and a right-wing victory would bring further instability within current global politics. It could even continue to cause a ripple across Europe that signals more confidence from parties such as these. Recently, the Dutch voted against far-right populism and so did the Austrians, with the UK general election in June, commentators and politicians alike will have one eye on the French election result. The result could signal either the spark the far-right need or the end to populism of this kind.
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