54
votes
Accepted
Why would far-left groups oppose Macron’s re-election?
First, a bit of background is necessary: Macron was the Minister of Economy and Industry under Valls' government, when Hollande was president (this was a centre-left government). Previously, Macron ...
- 16.2k
47
votes
What are the benefits for strong economies like Germany and France for being members of the European Union?
The main one is exporting without barriers to these other EU countries, in terms of [no] tariffs and [no] non-tariff barriers (thanks to unified product standards), and also lack of competitive ...
- 145k
45
votes
What are the benefits for strong economies like Germany and France for being members of the European Union?
You have to remember that the EU's immediate precursor was initially specifically set up to ensure that France and Germany would not enter into another war against each other.
Also, even a strong ...
42
votes
Accepted
Why isn't mail-in voting allowed in France?
France allowed mail-in voting from 1958 to 1975. It was replaced by proxy voting by law 75-1239 in December 1975. The reasons given at the time to get rid of mail-in voting are the same reasons not to ...
39
votes
Accepted
Is Le Pen ideologically a French equivalent of Trump?
There are major differences between the French and American political culture which reflect into their respective political agendas. I am not sure their minds or political programs fully fall into the ...
- 3,361
36
votes
What is the point of Emmanuel Macron speaking so often with Vladimir Putin?
Ultimately this war will only be stopped by negotiation.
It is exceptionally unlikely that Ukraine will drive all Russian forces out of its territory by military force, especially considering the ...
- 15.2k
34
votes
Accepted
Can an extra nomination in the French presidential election prevent a person's candidacy?
No - this scenario is discussed on the constitutional council’s website (from the 2017 Presidential election). The process is that a maximum of fifty parrainages from one département will be ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
31
votes
Why is the French embassy in Niger still considered an embassy?
The question assumes the core issue in dispute. France takes the position that Niger's new coup regime is not the legitimate government of Niger, so its pronouncements don't matter. Niger's coup ...
- 73.4k
29
votes
Accepted
What is the point of Emmanuel Macron speaking so often with Vladimir Putin?
Quoting Emmanuel Macron:
If he doesn't talk to anyone anymore, then we don't know how far he can go. It's my obsession with him, I tell him every time. When you enter the cycle of violence, the ...
- 436
28
votes
Accepted
Is French Guiana a (hard) EU border?
Customs in French Guiana
Yes, it is an external border for the purpose of EU common external customs tariffs. According to the EU's page on Territorial status of EU countries and certain territories
...
JJJ♦
- 38.9k
28
votes
Why is Macron seemingly opposing an article 50 extension?
Without citing President Macron directly, the BBC summarizes some of the reasons that play a role:
But France worries a 12-week extension could encourage more UK indecisiveness or a general election ...
JJJ♦
- 38.9k
27
votes
How can a country force an ambassador to leave?
By declaring them "persona non grata" and telling them they need to leave. Just because someone is named as an ambassador doesn't mean that the host country is forced to accept them. This ...
- 15.4k
26
votes
How would France benefit from a potential "Frexit"?
LePen is selling a brand of nationalism oriented towards the "good old days" when France mattered more, not necessarily because it was better off, but because fewer nations were successful overall, so ...
25
votes
Accepted
What significance does the announcement that Marine Le Pen is momentarily stepping aside as the leader of France's "Front National" have?
Adrien's answer has a lot of merits. It is indeed a marketing strategy, especially done at this moment (between the two rounds).
It can also be said that this is a French tradition: the President is ...
- 2,227
25
votes
Accepted
Why are Marine Le Pen's possible connections with Steve Bannon something worth investigating?
The funding of political parties is strictly organized by the law in France. Even a former President can be prosecuted, and potentially sent to jail, for cheating with the regulations.
In the ...
- 6,305
25
votes
Does this newly proposed French bill violate or go against the principles of international human right of free speech?
By "International Human Right", I shall assume you are referring to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It is worth quoting the relevant clauses:
Everyone has the right to ...
- 115k
24
votes
Why exactly is Laïcité (the law on separation of church and state) not valid in Alsace?
Well, Wikipedia has a pretty detailed explanation on this:
Alsace-Moselle maintains its own local legislation, applying specific customs and laws on certain issues in spite of its being an integral ...
- 145k
23
votes
Accepted
Why is there a strong drive for undocumented migration, from France, to the United Kingdom?
In August 2018, Refugee Rights Europe published a report entitled The Long Wait which surveyed 870 individuals living in the informal refugee camp in Calais, roughly 15% of the camp's population. Of ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
23
votes
Why would far-left groups oppose Macron’s re-election?
Why are left-wing groups protesting an election in which the right-wing candidate lost?
The first thing I'd like to answer to that is this: did he?
An important element of perspective you're missing ...
- 737
22
votes
Accepted
How did Le Pen do better in the second round than in the first?
Given that all the other parties were either neutral or supported Macron, and was branded an enemy of the republic, how did she gain an addition 12% or so?
Voters aren't beholden to parties.
It's ...
- 89.3k
22
votes
Accepted
Did most French people change their opinion about who contributed most to the defeat of Nazi Germany?
In short, yes the information presented in that graphic is well sourced and appears generally reliable.
The creator of the graphic is Olivier Berruyer who is French political blogger. His source is ...
- 115k
22
votes
Accepted
Why is there an official retirement age?
The French system is a pay as you go system. It's not your money you saved you retire on (unlike, say, Malaysia), it's the money current workers are still putting in that you get. That, together with ...
22
votes
Why is the French embassy in Niger still considered an embassy?
the French ambassador to Niger has been effectively sacked and become persona non grata with no diplomatic immunity Surely now it's just a building with an unwelcome squatter which the host country ...
- 145k
20
votes
What's the highest number of amendments submitted for a law proposal in France, since 1958?
I believe the record is still held by the 2006 energy sector bill. Le Monde reported at the time:
In the parliamentary game, the centerpiece remains the amendment. With
the energy bill, a record is ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
19
votes
Accepted
Why do some African countries use the CFA franc if it means that they need to pay France money to be able to print money for their economies?
Depositing is not exactly “paying”. In fact, the Banque de France paid interest on that money and is currently transferring it back to African central banks (as part of a broader transition out of the ...
- 30.5k
18
votes
Accepted
Why is there so much worry about France potentially leaving the EU?
With Britain exiting, France and Germany are the most powerful countries in the EU. If France exits, the EU will in practice be dominated by Germany, and thus cease to be a truly multipolar ...
- 4,493
18
votes
Accepted
Why have markets reacted well to the first round of the French presidential election?
Stratfor's latest podcast (or here) addressed it in detail, but at root level it's very simple: the markets were pricing in (due to closeness of polling and other polling-related factors) the worst-...
- 91.8k
18
votes
What are the benefits for strong economies like Germany and France for being members of the European Union?
It seems to me that when there is a financial crisis, strong economies in EU, like Germany and France, are supposed to help the countries in trouble [...]
That's just the bone of contention. Germany ...
- 106k
17
votes
Accepted
Why hasn't France exited the EU, when it loathes the EU's enlargement?
The French are rational enough to realize that a not quite perfect EU is still vastly superior from their perspective than no EU at all. The EU is designed to build and require a consensus, so one ...
- 106k
17
votes
Why did France oppose Fiona Scott Morton's nomination so strongly?
Macron has since his election tried to build a startup nation to make France competitive toward the US in the tech sector. Having a European representative that has an history of defending companies ...
- 320
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible