Privilege vs poverty in the French election

In a few hours France will know who has won the presidential election. Macron, predict the polls – though Marine Le Pen’s National Rally remain convinced that the ‘voice of the street’ will sweep them to power.

The truth, however, is that there will be no winner from this election. Macron told Le Pen during Wednesday’s live television debate that her wish to ban the headscarf would precipitate a ‘civil war’, but France is already at war with itself. Macron vs Le Pen is how it has manifested itself this month but the battle lines were first drawn a decade or more ago as the effects of globalisation began to bite in what is called la France Périphérique.

These are the people who overwhelmingly vote for Le Pen, the men and women who live outside the cities and work in poorly paid jobs. In the first round of voting, 37 per cent of those categorised as défavorisé (disadvantaged) voted for Le Pen and 13 for Macron, while for the ‘privileged’ demographic it was 8 and 53 per cent respectively.