Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

The ugly selfishness of France’s politicians

Emmanuel Macron (Credit: Getty images)

France play Spain this evening in the semi-final of the European football championship, and there may be a smile on the faces of some of the French players. Several have been social media in the last 24 hours, expressing their satisfaction with the success of the left-wing coalition in the election. 

‘Congratulations to all the French people who rallied round so that this beautiful country of France does not find itself governed by the extreme right’, said Jules Koundé. Aurélien Tchouaméni, who, like Koundé, plays his club football in Spain, called the result a ‘victory for the people’.

Sunday night’s result was not, as Tchouaméni claims, a victory for the people

That’s not strictly true. More people voted for the National Rally than any other party: ten million in total (36 per cent), compared to 7.5 million for the left-wing coalition (25 per cent) and 7 million for Macron’s centrist alliance (23 per cent). But

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