Novice or Ultra Right

France chose a showdown between political novice and ultra right two weeks later. French Presidential election on Sunday resulted with no winner with simple majority and went to a runoff by the top runner Emmanuel Macron, political centrist with pro-European Union policy, and his closest follower Marine Le Pen, President of National Front with policy of independence from E.U. As shown in Western nations, Japan hopes France to maintain traditional ties with liberal and democratic powers.

Among eleven candidates in the election, Macron occupied 23.8% of all votes, collecting the votes based on frustration with traditional bipartisan politics. Le Pen was close on Macron with 21.4% with supports for unilateral foreign policy and nationalistic slogan of “France First.” A Republican François Fillon and a far-leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon could not overcome those two frontrunners in spite of notable share of nearly 20%, making the election unprecedentedly close race.

Japanese media described Macron as a young ex-banker with a spouse in her age of twenty-five years older than him, who had been his high school teacher. Macron promotes the policy to stay E.U. Against the argument of unwelcoming immigrants, Macron supported the policy accepting immigrants, if it would be necessary from the viewpoint of humanity. He upheld cooperation with E.U. in anti-terrorist measures and promised to increase police personnel.

Le Pen has been known as a daughter of the founder of NF, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Marine succeeded the party supported by such political powers as exclusionists or anti-Semitics in 2011. NF increased its supporters of jobless workers or farmers who were frustrated with E.U. policies. The simultaneous terrorism in Paris in 2015 generated advance of nationalistic assertion for excluding refugees from Islamic countries.

As a positive response of the hope for President Macron, Euro was bought in Tokyo Foreign Exchange, marking the lowest value of Japanese yen against Euro for a month. His firm pledge for staying E.U. caused sudden rally of Nikkei Average in Tokyo Stock Exchange. As Germany unusually expressed unequivocal support for Macron, Japan expects French President who will maintain moderate relationship with Japan.

The ones who felt comfortable with likeliness of Macron to be the next President need to remind of the fact that he is a political novice. There is no guarantee that Macron can handle internal frustration with immigrants rushing into Europe. Nationalists are likely to keep on pressuring French government to get out of E.U. before and after the Brexit. Neither traditional powers nor newcomers look unable to settle the difficulty in historically unique European democracy.