New president of France faces an uncertain future

Although political new- comer Emmanuel Macron won the hotly contested race for president of France with 66 percent of the vote, he could still wind up a lame-duck leader if he fails to secure a working majority in parliament.

The 577-seat legislative elections will be held in mid-June, and the outcome will set the political stage in France for the next five years.

Without the votes to push through his agenda, including labor reforms, Macron will find himself in political limbo. That will be disastrous for the country.

As Sunday’s election for president clearly showed, the ideological divide in the country is so large that far-right candidate Marine Le Pen received 34 percent of the vote.

But even more significantly, there were a record number of blank or spoiled ballots in the runoff contest.

Le Pen, whose French-first nationalism was embraced by millions of people, let it be known that she and her far-right National Front party will be a force to contend with for a long time.

Indeed, the National Front is aiming for dozens of seats in the new parliament. If that should occur, Macron’s political movement launched just a year ago will be crippled.

Aware of the stakes, the new president is not only fielding candidates for all 577 seats, but has decided to rebrand the movement with a new name, “Republic on the Move.”

Macron resigned as its president in the aftermath of his election, but General Secretary Richard Ferrand said Sunday the organization will be “a new political force” on the landscape redrawn by Macron’s success.

Republic on the Move is scheduled to release the names of the parliamentary candidates on Thursday.

Leading opposition

Meanwhile, Le Pen contended that the 10.6 million votes she received will make her party the leading opposition. The National Front is also aiming to rebrand to widen its appeal. The message of French-first, an end to immigration and the withdrawal from the European Union has certainly struck a chord.

If her party succeeds in widening its appeal and does capture a sizable number of parliamentary seats, the new president’s time in office will be a challenge. His promise to restore France’s economic vitality by launching business-friendly initiatives will be hard to keep.

In addition, his pledge to continue France’s leading role in the EU could face a major push back by parliament if Le Pen’s political disciples are in the majority.

At 39, Macron is France’s youngest leader since emperor Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power at age 35. He is a former investment banker who served as outgoing President Francois Hollande’s economy minister until his resignation a year ago to embark on his risky presidential run as an independent.

He delivered a positive message of economic restoration, racial and ethnic inclusion and a strengthening of France’s relationships with countries around the world.

But although Macron received 20.7 million votes, the overall turnout of 75.3 percent was the lowest percentage since the 1969 election. In other words, 11.4 million of the 47 million registered voters chose not to participate.

Against that backdrop, the political tensions that marked the first and second rounds of voting in the presidential election will not be eased any time soon.

Indeed, there was a protest Monday in Paris just hours after Macron spoke to his supporters. The several thousand people were voicing their displeasure at his planned reforms, some of which are aimed at French workers.

“He needs to cool down,” said Raphael Garine, a student. “If he wants to continue the reckless policies of the past five years we will take to the streets to demonstrate.”

Protesters briefly clashed with police and several arrests were made.

Indeed, many voters backed Macron reluctantly, simply to keep out Le Pen’s extremism. Thus, he may not be able to count on their loyalty, especially if he pursues policies they find objectionable.

Macron will be sworn in Sunday – with the dark cloud of the parliamentary elections in mid-June hanging over his head.

France faces an uncertain future, at best.