On Sunday, millions of Frenchmen will head to the polls and decide who they want as their next president. The final two candidates are Emmanuel Macron, who leads the socially liberal party En Marche! (In Motion!) and is a staunch supporter of the European Union, and Marine Le Pen, who is a strong nationalist and supports French independence and stricter controls on immigration.
In recent weeks, Macron has been leading in the polls, with the press declaring him the likely winner, even before a single vote has been cast. However, Le Pen has been gaining ground, and many compare her rise in popularity to that of President Donald J. Trump.
Now that Macron’s lead is shrinking, fellow liberals are panicking, fearing that Le Pen might pull off a surprise victory. As a result, failed president Barack Obama has decided to meddle in the French presidential election, recording a video to formally support Macron’s candidacy.
L’espoir est en marche. Merci @BarackObama. pic.twitter.com/0azZHLZLse
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 4, 2017
From The Hill:
“I know that you face many challenges, and I want all of my friends in France to know how much I am rooting for your success,” he said in a video announcing his support. “Because of how important this election is, I also want you to know I am supporting Emmanuel Macron to lead you forward. En March! Vive la France!”
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“He appeals to people’s hopes and not their fears,” he said. “And he is committed to a better future for the French people.” “He has stood up for liberal values. He put forward a vision for the important role that France plays in Europe and around the world.” France’s presidential election is widely regarded as a test of the populist movement that has swept through Western governments since last year.
Obama has a long history of meddling in other country’s elections, and his administration used $350,000 taxpayer dollars to support an Israeli group seeking to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power.
The money went to a group called OneVoice, and the spending was deemed legal because the State Department never dictated where the money be spent.
Of course, the same people having conniption fits about Russian conspiracy theories said nothing about Obama attacking a close U.S. ally.
While Le Pen is often compared to President Trump, the president has yet to formally announce his support to the French presidential candidate, although he did say the deadly attack on a police bus in Paris would “probably help her because she is the strongest on borders and she is the strongest on what’s been going on in France.”
Given that Obama is no longer a government official, we should expect him to do more overt meddling in foreign elections, as he goes around supporting liberal candidates that subscribe to his globalist worldview.
Do you think Obama’s meddling will help or hurt Macron’s candidacy? Share your thoughts below!