2017 French Presidential Election

[Hash]

There have been lots of defections to support Macron, but the party is backing Fillon again. Lol "centrists", I never understand why France is full of these joke parties that are basically just annexes of the bigger one - UDI for LR; PRG for the PS...

Hilariously, the UDI isn't even a single party but rather a federation of party made up of four parties and four 'associated structure', much like the old UDF (and, like the old UDF, it is also possible to directly join the UDI as an 'adhérent direct'). It is currently made up of the Lagarde and friends' microempresa electoral (FED), Hervé Morin's useless NC (now called 'Les Centristes'), the Radical Party and Jean-Marie Bockel's utterly irrelevant La Gauche moderne. Jean Arthuis' Alliance centriste was excluded for supporting FBM. In 2014, the Radicals were the largest party with around 6,000 members, followed by the FED and NC with over 5,000 each (LGM claimed about 1,100 and AC 476) --- somewhat amazing that the FED had over 5,000 purported member, considering I've never seen that party as anything else than the product of Lagarde's personal feud with Morin and that no normal person has heard of it, although Lagarde has clientelistic networks so...

Some other parties originally joined but have since left or been expelled: Neuilly mayor Jean-Christophe Fromantin's micro-party (TEM) left, the irrelevant Parti libéral démocrate came and went and the old but useless right-wing CNIP was expelled shortly after Gilles Bourdouleix's "Hitler probably didn't kill enough" (Roma) comment.

[Barnes]

I was going to ask about the parties individually, but then thought who cares, what's the difference!

Btw, great to see you around, Hash.

[Zinneke]

Which one is Borloo's faction and why hasn't kicked them up the arse for supporting Fillon?

Also, the mention of Lagarde and UDI remants reminded me of this abomination :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyLOy7l_jP4

[Barnes]

Which one is Borloo's faction and why hasn't kicked them up the arse for supporting Fillon?

Also, the mention of Lagarde and UDI remants reminded me of this abomination :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyLOy7l_jP4

Bless you for sharing.

[Tirnam]

Tracking polls

OpinionWay
Le Pen: 26% (+1)
Macron: 24% (=)
Fillon: 20% (+1)
Mélenchon: 15% (=)
Hamon: 10% (-1)

Second round: Macron 61% (-2), Le Pen 39%

Ifop
Macron: 25% (-1)
Le Pen: 25% (-0.5)
Fillon: 17.5 (+0.5)
Mélenchon: 15.5% (+0.5)
Hamon: 10% (=)

Second round: Macron 60.5% (+0.5), Le Pen 39.5%

[SunSt0rm]

Anyone watching the debate?

[Tirnam]

I do. Too many people, so not it's almost impossible to anyone to be remember

Nevertheless among the main candidates, well I think that Macron is doing a very good job, Mélenchon and Hamon are quite good, Le Pen I would say neutral, Fillon totally absent for 30-40 minutes, looks sad, then an arrogant attack against Dupont-Aignan.

Among minor candidates, well Dupont-Aignan is the most credible but Poutou is cool. He made some attacks against "corrupted politicians who will recognize themselves in the room" maybe the part about moralization of public life will be interesting.

[SunSt0rm]

Yea I agree, 11 is way too much and bit chaotic. Poutou is speaking way too fast and Lassalle way too slow speaks like a drunk person. Its funny to see how Le Pen has to defend herself against Asselineau and Melenchon against the other minor leftish candidates

[Hash]

Lassalle continues to be hilarious. Seems to be slightly drunk (or it might be his natural insanity).

[Tirnam]

Sadly I can't stop laughing at every answer he gives beginning by "Fellow citizens"

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

I am watching but I don't understand anything. I wish to understand what Arthaud and Poutou were talking about .

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Christ, I'd probably vote Macron over JLM. JLM presidency would be an utter disaster for the French left, making Hollande's year look like nothing happened.

[Tirnam]

I am watching but I don't understand anything. I wish to understand what Arthaud and Poutou were talking about .

They basically say that the problem to everything is Big Business (even to terrorism)
But it was interesting to see them "defend" the EU (the only ones with Macron and maybe Hamon) because obviously the problem is Big Business.

[SPQR]

Seems like Lassalle is managing to get some attention, though.

[Tirnam]

Haha. Well Poutou did his job about moralization of public life.

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

Haha. Well Poutou did his job about moralization of public life.

What did he said?

[Tirnam]

"Since January, it's the feast, Fillon, he is in front of me, the more we search, the more we feel the corruption, the cheating. And he is the guy who explain to us that austerity is necessary"

Le Pen, who refused to be heard by police because of her parliamentary immunity
"We, we don't have a worker immunity"

[Hash]

Fillon displays his utter ignorance of Venezuelan constitutional law. Sad!

[Zinneke]

This debate is missing Jean-Luc Benhammias

[Hash]

Which one is Borloo's faction and why hasn't kicked them up the arse for supporting Fillon?

Also, the mention of Lagarde and UDI remants reminded me of this abomination :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyLOy7l_jP4

Borloo was with the Radical Party. Despite its pretensions, the PRV has declined into obscurity and irrelevance once more, unable to exist without others' goodwill. In any case, Borloo is nowhere to be found, presumably too drunk to care. It's unclear if he has some kind of secret master plan but it's irrelevant since he's proven that he's incompetent and a failed politician.

The UMP lipdub is one of the greatest moments in recent French history. A shout-out to the IMF director's sick dance moves, Wauquiez checking out the girl next to him, whatever the hell my lovely deputy Frédo Lefebvre was doing there and Jean-Pierre Raffarin's timeless goal of being that hip kewl kid.

[Tirnam]

Poutou to Fillon: "You are less concerned about debt when it comes to lining your pockets"
Fillon: "Je vais vous foutre un procès" (I don't know exactly how to translate that, maybe "I'll f--king sue you" ?)

So the debate is over (Almost 4 hours...).
Among the main candidates, I would say that Macron has won, he wasn't attacked by Fillon or Le Pen, strange. Mélenchon and Hamon were good, but no more. I think that Fillon and Le Pen lost, Fillon attacked by everyone (and very hard by Poutou of course), Le Pen was very aggressive.

For the minor candidates: Dupont-Aignan the more credible, maybe he could gain some votes from Fillon. Poutou was the best to animate the debate. For the others nothing will change.

[parochial boy]

Which one is Borloo's faction and why hasn't kicked them up the arse for supporting Fillon?

Also, the mention of Lagarde and UDI remants reminded me of this abomination :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyLOy7l_jP4

Les jeunes du neuf-deux.

I just had to try and convince my flatmate that I was watching porn

[TheSaint250]

Another question for experts on French politics: Why doesn't Dupont-Aignan drop out and endorse Le Pen?  He and his party seem to align with her (except for him wanting a quicker Frexit).

[Barnes]

Another question for experts on French politics: Why doesn't Dupont-Aignan drop out and endorse Le Pen?  He and his party seem to align with her (except for him wanting a quicker Frexit).

Well it's too late to withdraw from the election officially. Other than that, the French far-right has many concerns, but electability is not one of them.

[Kringla Heimsins]

Another question for experts on French politics: Why doesn't Dupont-Aignan drop out and endorse Le Pen?  He and his party seem to align with her (except for him wanting a quicker Frexit).

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan still rejects fiercely the identitarian politics advocated by Marine Le Pen, even though he is moving closer to the right every week. Immigration is not his greater concern.

He also doesn't like the "flexible" secularism (laïcité) of the FN; he believes in strict separation of church and state, whereas they prefer to see Christianity as the most important part of "French roots".

Also, he doesn't want to give up his party and his role as leader.