Today is the 232nd anniversary of the great French revolution. Time to take the temperature of the nation. The regional elections of 20 and 27 June changed nothing of France’s regional complexion, but revealed much about the worrying state of the nation.
The same regional presidents were re-elected to the 12 metropolitan regions: seven for the right, five for the left. The traditional parties cried victory. They have been fighting for their survival since 2017 when Macron’s LREM party burst onto the scene from nowhere. 2021’s revenge was the more sweet for the old guard, with a serious beating being given not only to Macron’s camp – which scored a humiliating seven per cent of the vote – but also to Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National, which had hoped to gain three regions but got none and came third nationally.
But this apparent stability in France’s electoral map hides deep unrest.
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