Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen Advance to French Election Runoff

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig Apr 24, 2017 Whether France will stay in the European Union or head for a "Frexit" largely comes down to which of the two leading vote-getters will prevail May 7. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Could Proportional Representation Save French and American Democracies?

Natasha Hakimi Zapata / Truthdig Apr 19, 2017 If he becomes president, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, known as France's Bernie Sanders, hopes to change his country's electoral process for good. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

John Oliver on Why We Should Pay Close Attention to the Upcoming French Election (Video)

Natasha Hakimi Zapata / Truthdig Apr 17, 2017 France is on the verge of committing a nativist mistake comparable to those the United States and Britain made in 2016, the "Last Week Tonight" host says. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

As French Election Nears, a Bernie Sanders-Style Candidate Rises in the Polls

Alan Minsky / Truthdig Apr 12, 2017 The threat of proto-fascist Marine Le Pen continuing the trend started by Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory is tempered by the possibility that a socialist—Jean-Luc Melenchon -- could prevail. The threat of proto-fascist Marine Le Pen continuing the trend started by Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory is tempered by the possibility that a socialist—Jean-Luc Melenchon—could prevail. Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

Islamic State Is Encouraging Loner Attacks to Mask Its Decline

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Mar 25, 2017 The terrorist organization is playing a long game in trying to herd Europe’s tens of millions of Muslims into radicalism. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Populist Plans [a cartoon from the United Arab Emirates]

Paresh Nath, The Khaleej Times, UAE / Cagle Cartoons Mar 1, 2017 Dig deeper

Theorist Judith Butler Warns That France Is on Way to Becoming an Extreme-Right Militarized State

Staff / Truthdig Nov 19, 2015 Writing from Paris in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, theorist and professor Judith Butler laments some French citizens' willingness to give up civil liberties in return for a veneer of safety that masks the development of a stronger "security state and the narrowing versions of democracy before us." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Right-Wing Extremism—It’s Not Just for the U.S.

BLANK Dec 15, 2013 The Syrian refugee crisis has fanned the flames of right-wing extremism in Bulgaria, signaling yet more nationalistic political sentiment in Europe. No one’s predicting a return of the 1930s rise of fascism, but the parallels are disturbing. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Forget Le Pen, It’s Down to Two

William Pfaff / Truthdig Apr 26, 2012 The French elections have settled one question, that of the two finalists for the presidency. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

The Globalization of Hollow Politics

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Apr 23, 2012 I went to Lille in northern France to attend a rally held by the socialist candidate Francois Hollande. I could, with a few alterations, have been at a football rally in Amarillo, Texas. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

France: Socialist Victory Overshadowed by ‘Big Healthy Blonde Girl’

Staff / Truthdig Apr 23, 2012 Until his daughter, Marine, captured 19 percent of the vote in France's first round of presidential elections Sunday, Jean Marie Le Pen was the country's most politically successful right-wing crazy In a way he saw this coming, promoting his daughter, as The Guardian recalls, as a "big healthy blonde girl an ideal physical specimen". Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )