
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


This week the first round of the presidential election in France has shone a spotlight on the tectonic shifts taking place in the nation’s politics. President Emmanuel Macron, who shocked the world five years ago by winning the presidency as an outsider, has firmly established his party as the only centrist force - peeling off support from the traditional left and right. His main challenger, Marine Le Pen of National Rally, has proved the enduring appeal of the far-right by once again receiving the second highest number of votes. They will face each other in a run-off on 24th April. Analysts believe Ms Le Pen would have performed even better had she not faced stiff competition from another far-right figure, former TV personality Eric Zemmour. So what's behind the popularity of right-wing politics in France? Are policies that used to be confined to the more extreme ends of the political spectrum now becoming commonplace? And what might a far-right president mean for France’s place in Europe and the world?
Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.
By BBC World Service4.6
273273 ratings
This week the first round of the presidential election in France has shone a spotlight on the tectonic shifts taking place in the nation’s politics. President Emmanuel Macron, who shocked the world five years ago by winning the presidency as an outsider, has firmly established his party as the only centrist force - peeling off support from the traditional left and right. His main challenger, Marine Le Pen of National Rally, has proved the enduring appeal of the far-right by once again receiving the second highest number of votes. They will face each other in a run-off on 24th April. Analysts believe Ms Le Pen would have performed even better had she not faced stiff competition from another far-right figure, former TV personality Eric Zemmour. So what's behind the popularity of right-wing politics in France? Are policies that used to be confined to the more extreme ends of the political spectrum now becoming commonplace? And what might a far-right president mean for France’s place in Europe and the world?
Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.

7,724 Listeners

534 Listeners

1,039 Listeners

284 Listeners

5,541 Listeners

1,815 Listeners

1,828 Listeners

1,062 Listeners

1,991 Listeners

365 Listeners

769 Listeners

524 Listeners

399 Listeners

71 Listeners

956 Listeners

740 Listeners

53 Listeners

268 Listeners

3,167 Listeners

755 Listeners

280 Listeners

25 Listeners