The French have a new president, Emmanuel Macron. The decisive win has presented the French with the youngest head of state since Napoleon’s rule. The historical win, one that saw the more traditional Gaullist and Socialists removed from the election run-up came at a 65.5 to 34.5 percent win.
Macron, who has never held public office and who only constructed his En Marche! movement last year, now has the large task of keeping true to his promises. Currently, one in four French under the age of 25 are unemployed, keeping the unemployment rate at around 9.7 percent. Macron has claimed he can lower it to below 7 percent. But the question of how the new president intends to do this when both the left and right have failed, is on observers’ minds.
Although Macron has won, some say it was the lesser choice of two evils. Voters on the far left and far right are unimpressed with Macron’s globalist, free market views. Others continue to draw on his background as a Hollande advisor and minister and a Rothschild’s banker.
Macron also wants to cut public service jobs by 120,000 and slash government spending by $85 billion. The contentious labor code that has seen widespread protests over the last 12 months is also set to be simplified; he wants to negotiate a flexible 35 hour week for businesses.
Macron also faces the hurdle of endorsing 577 new candidates for the National Assembly, due to hold lower house elections in the coming weeks. If he can’t find suitable candidates that the French will back, Macron will need to contend with the support of the already established Republicans and Socialists.
The message Macron’s victory projects are that the European Union has been given a reprieve. There will be no Frexit. However, the win, although decisive, is a future warning to the French government that the people are demanding a change and that the nation is divided on what that change will be.
A strong anti-establishment movement, which has rocked the nation with mass demonstrations, is unlikely to disappear. Macron only has a short time to begin implementing his policies if any change is to be seen during his term.
One German official wishing to remain anonymous said, “Macron has 12 to 15 months to take the necessary decisions so that the benefits are visible before the end of his term.”
One voter celebrated the Macron win, telling news.com.au “I’m happy Macron won because he’s not racist.” While others remained solemn. “It’s a very, very sad day for my country. [Macron] works for the big banks, big corporations. With him the rich will be more rich, the poor will be more poor.”
Le Pen announced that the National Front party will be overhauled, possibly retracting or tempering policies such as quitting the euro and the EU; policies that spooked some voters. Le Pen also offered her congratulations to the new president.
President Macron gave his victory speech in front of the Louvre museum entrance, at the glass pyramid. “Tonight, France won,” he announced. “Everyone told us it was impossible, but they don’t know France … I will serve you with love.”
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More of the same crud. We were hoping he would reform cannabis laws but only does lipservice to it. Melanchon was going for full legalisation but all the old farts in France couldn’t figure that out.
I like what HBO’s “Girls” has to say. It has to say that at 23, all girls are lost, but all girls dress so cool and have such great potential for their personalities. This show is a little in your face, but so is 23.
TV shows are rarely about 23 year old girls. If 23 year old girls are in TV shows they are usually playing high school students. I grew up watching Friends and Sex in the City, where people are in their late twenties or their thirties, and they’re starting to figure things out. 23 is so messy.
The four main characters of Girls – Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna – don’t really have their act together (though they live in cool apartments in Brooklyn). Hannah is a writer whose parents just decided to cut her off. She quits her year-long unpaid internship and is struggling to find a new job. Marnie works as an assistant at an art gallery and is having trouble with her boyfriend of four years. Jessa just stopped travelling and is now a nanny. Shoshanna is a high-strung student.
As any good story goes, the characters keep making poor choices that lead their act to fall even more apart. That’s not just a good story; that’s 23.
This show represents its age so well because most episodes are something like written, created, directed, executively produced by and starring Hannah, or Lena Dunham. The only thing Lena Dunham could do to make her show better represent 23 is not include all these labels, which estrange her 23-year old viewers who are not doing any of the above on any TV show.
“Girls” got me thinking that I am 23, and I am trying to write something that feels my age. What do we do when we graduate school? What if we don’t want a real job? What if we just want to be a writer?
Then I realized I made my character 29. At least it’s the age I’ll be when I finish it, because finishing it would mean getting my act together, and that doesn’t happen at 23. See? Lena Dunham is 26.