Analysis: Le Pen’s party now dominant force in France
National Rally has seen a surge of support and is on course to become the largest party in the National Assembly
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) has pulled off another victory and is now well on the way to its goal of turning French politics on its head.
There will be much talk in the coming days of centrist and left-wing candidates standing aside in round two in order to concentrate the anti-RN vote – and much wailing about the disappearance of the old Front Républicain (when the other parties used to agree to keep out the far-right).
But it would take an upset of monumental proportions to overturn the only conclusion that can be drawn from this first round of voting, which is that RN is now indisputably the dominant political force in France.
Nonetheless, what remains to be decided over the next week is still quite significant.
It is the difference between a far-right government having a free hand because of an outright majority in the National Assembly and a far-right government unable to do very much at all because the Assembly is split.
Right now, the seat projections give the RN anything from 260 to 310. Given that 289 seats is an absolute majority, there is obviously a lot still to play for.
To limit the damage to their cause, French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists and the left-wing New Popular Front alliance will call on their supporters to vote tactically in round two on 7 July. Even if their own candidate has been knocked out, voters will be urged to choose whoever it is in their constituency that is up against the RN.
But the trouble with this kind of party order is that fewer and fewer people listen to them anymore.
The disappearance of the shame that used to attend a vote for the RN has been a long process, but it can now surely be declared to be complete.
The other difficulty for opponents of the RN is the high number of so-called triangular votes in round two – in other words, constituencies where not two but three candidates will be facing off next Sunday. Usually, one each from the centre, the far-right and the left.
The reason for the high number of triangulars is the high voter turnout, which is itself the result of the high stakes.
It is also because the lightning campaign made it impossible for small parties to get their act together, so the vote has been concentrated in the three blocs.
Evidently, if there are three parties competing in a constituency, it is harder for the anti-RN vote to coalesce. In many places there will be centrist or leftwinger candidates standing aside – but far from in all.
In general, the country appears to be gripped now with a sense of the inevitability of a far-right win.
What was once seen as an enormity not even to be contemplated is now a tangible fact-in-waiting.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
