Election in France 2022, Live | After being defeated by Marine Le Pen, Macron: “Tonight’s a big win” International

Berlin is anxiously waiting for the election results

Elena G. By Sevillano. The outcome of this Sunday’s presidential election in France goes beyond an internal problem: Germany and Europe are in a lot of danger, depending on the winning candidate. Berlin’s support for Emmanuel Macron is clear: this week, he signed with President Olaf Scholes, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa and Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, in which they voted for the liberal politician, “without naming him, Marine Le Pen’s” extreme right. All three Social Democrat leaders point out that Brexit has affected workers, youth and the most vulnerable, and urge that the mistake not be repeated.

“The victory for Le Pen will be an earthquake for the entire European Union,” said Joachim Schild, a professor at Trier University who specializes in relations between Germany and France. Berlin is anxiously waiting for the election results. There is a consensus that the far-right candidate will become an unpredictable factor in European politics. “This is a threat to the decades-old Franco-German relationship at the center of European construction, and in times of crisis, it is more necessary than ever,” Shield said in a telephone conversation with EL PAS.

Le Pen is clearly not only Euroseptic; He is also committed to inciting anti-German discontent in France. In 2019, when the two countries renewed their historic alliance in Aachen, Macron accused France of “selling it to pieces,” and the UN. He called him a traitor, claiming that he had placed the Alsace border under German control. None of these were included in the agreement, but Le Pen’s anti-German rhetoric tends to ignore the facts to exaggerate Berlin’s “dominance” or “submission” to Paris.

Macron, on the other hand, is seen as a trusted partner, with a commitment to Europe and the need to continue to develop good relations with Germany. The candidate recalled in a televised debate that France had not produced its own vaccine during the epidemic – a German company did – and that the French had benefited from EU unity in the joint venture. He noted challenges such as recovery finance and climate protection or digitalisation, which can only be overcome within the framework of a strong and united EU.

In this campaign the candidate has reduced the intensity of his attacks on Brussels and Berlin, but if elected he will put an end to joint military cooperation plans with Germany, including the construction of tanks and warplanes. . A few days ago, he said he would ensure closer ties between NATO and Russia after the end of the war in Ukraine, announcing that France would withdraw from the joint military command of the Atlantic Alliance if elected. “Germany will lose its key partner in European foreign policy,” Schild said. As he said his relationship with Berlin would be “close”, the expert hopes that the victory for Le Pen will steer the alliance towards the United Kingdom.

The foreign policy proposals of the head of the National Reconstruction are of great concern in Berlin, although the media, while busy covering the war in Ukraine and its implications in German domestic politics, plays a secondary role in the French elections. Some analysts wonder about the “lack of interest” in the important votes of Germany’s neighbors. “Did we take the Franco-German friendship lightly?” Heard an article on that Frankfurt Alzheimer’s This week.