Count on France to save the EU

Come May 7, 46 million French voters will save the European Union from further disintegration. They will display the true spirit of European solidarity, fraternity and, of course, liberty. 
Following the first round of presidential voting showed last weekend, it appears that centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, 39, will succeed Frances Hollande as president. His sole remaining rival, far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen, is now hoping to gather more support for the second round of balloting, but the electorate is unlikely to be fooled at this juncture as it makes its choice between the contenders vying to lead France.
Whichever candidate wins, he or she will play an historical role, one that could make or break Europe. There is sharp division in public opinion between France’s urban and rural areas. Macron wants France to stay in the EU and gradually seek amendments to certain rules and regulations, while Le Pen wants France to quit the EU. 
A vast swath of electors disagrees with the proposition that France cannot survive alone in continental Europe. High degrees of nationalism seem to be the trend everywhere these days. New parties pop up regularly across Europe, touting radical agendas that entail abandoning the EU and raising barriers to immigration and globalisation.
It has to be acknowledged that, after seven decades, the EU has proved to be an institution overburdened by bureaucracy and one that sometimes ignores real needs and shifting moods. It is, after all, a top-down organisation, which helps explain the rise of anti-EU sentiment and the wave of opposition to globalisation. 
When ordinary people in any country or region are in dire straits financially, they typically go looking for scapegoats. Far too often they succumb to whatever regressive, reactionary emotion is prevailing. If Donald Trump could be elected president of the world’s biggest economy with his brash arrogance and his stream of deceptions, the rest of world is by comparison a kindergarten playground for other would-be demagogues of his ilk.  Trump has become the standard-bearer for regimes built on fake news, fake promises and fake policies. It’s an appalling fact that global politics is now being played out from the handbooks of Third World dictators. Will still more Trumps rise to national leadership in ostensibly democratic nations?
For many French voters, Le Pen’s message is no doubt hitting the nail on the head. Like Trump, she knows how to communicate and how to gain ground by raising eyebrows. She declared after her first-round victory that the time had come to relieve the elite class of its political control. Well, even if the sentiment were valid, the goal is easier espoused than accomplished. Trump said the same while campaigning, pledging to “drain the swamp” – the Washington establishment. Instead, he built his administration with family and big-money cronies. Is there a guarantee that Le Pen wouldn’t do the same? 
It’s become the norm in the post-truth era to say whatever comes to mind and pay no heed to the consequences, to who might suffer as a result. Then, once faced with the harsh realities, change the narrative, offering a handy assortment of tried-and-tested excuses. No one will care, or at least not for long. It’s a game Trump has mastered.
Despite all the nationalistic sentiments filtering through public discourse, the world is now irrevocably interconnected. There is no going back to the epoch of closed borders. As such, French voters will have to make a serious judgement call next month. Do they want to try and “save their country” by divorcing Europe? If so, they will suffer even more. France is far more integrated with the continent than Britain.