Elections in France: Who does Israel want to see on the Elysee?
At 9 pm Israel time, the polls will close in the first round of the French presidential election, with all polls indicating that the candidates who will continue in the second round are the current president and the far-right candidate.
Tali Goldstein
10/04/2022
Sunday, 10 April 2022, 17:15 Updated: 17:35
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
Share on general
Comments
Comments
In the video: The first round of the French presidential election opens (Photo: Reuters)
This morning (Sunday) the first round of the French presidential election began.
According to all estimates, the two who will continue for the next round, to be held on April 24, are the eighth President of France Emanuel Macron, and the candidate of the far right Marin Le Pen.
The turnout at noon today was estimated at 25.5% - compared to 28.5% at the time in the 2017 election.
According to the polls, Macron leads and will win in the first round 29% -27%.
It is followed by Le Pen, with 25% -24%.
The far-left man Jean-Luc Melenchon is in third place with about 17%, followed by the Jew Eric Zamor from the far right with about 9% and the leader of the moderate right-wing Republicans Valery Packers with about 8%.
The shells will close at 9 pm Israel time, and then the first exit polls will be published.
Among the polls, there is a consensus: in the second round, the French electorate will give the victory to Macron, 44, over Le Pen, 55.
However, which candidate would Israel prefer to see a winner?
More on Walla!
Once and for all: this is how you will help your child overcome the fear of a dentist
In collaboration with zap doctors
Presidential elections in France.
April 10, 2022 (Photo: Reuters)
"It is clear that the priority of the Israeli government and the Foreign Ministry is to support the familiar and the safe, that is, Israel wants incumbent President Makron to win again," said Professor Dennis Sharvit, head of the Open University's Master of Science program in Interdisciplinary Democracy Studies. "He is perceived overall as a supporter of Israel and will never exert extraordinary pressure on her beyond what is customary between two allies," he added.
Regarding the far-right candidate Le Pen, Sharvit said that Israel would not benefit from its election victory.
"To this day, Israel has maintained a policy of lack of relations with it, and it has never been officially invited here. The antisemitic past, and the past of its father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the radical right-wing National Front, are not something Israel can forget." , He stressed.
"Le Pen would like Israel to recognize it and give it international legitimacy, and certainly if it is elected, it will seek Israel's blessing," Sharvit said, "but Israel always goes in the direction outlined by the Jewish community. "That the Jewish community supports Macron, Israel does not intend to deviate from that."
Le Pen has become synonymous with the far right in France in the last decade.
Le Pen, the daughter of the nationalist politician and founder of the radical right-wing National Front party Jean-Marie Le Pen, is now a Member of Parliament who strongly opposes immigration, in the Calais area - the gateway to Britain where hundreds of thousands of African and Middle Eastern immigrants arrive. .
Daniel Sack, former Israeli ambassador to France, agrees.
"Marine Le Pen is in the category of political leaders boycotted by Israel. Both she and her father are boycotted in the Israeli political arena, they have never visited Israel and have not been invited for an official visit," he says.
Moreover, "the 'National Front' has a definite antisemitic past, including lawsuits and convictions," and in general, "another five years of Macron, who was overall a friendly and comfortable president of Israel, is much better," he explained.
Eric Zamor is voting in the French presidential election.
April 10, 2022 (Photo: Reuters, REUTERS / Yves Herman)
And what about the Jewish candidate Arik Zmor?
Despite being a Jew, Zamor, 63, is a cause for concern among sections of the Jewish community in France due to his harsh remarks against immigrants.
Like Le Pen, he supports Russian President Vladimir Putin, and even confessed in 2018 that he "dreams" of a French Putin, and also claimed that if Israel has nuclear weapons, there is no reason for Iran not to have such weapons.
According to Sharvit, Zamor is more problematic even than the word pen.
"In Israel they do not know him but he is even more radical than La Pen, he is for Iran and for Putin. The Jewish community The Jewish institutions in France are against him, and the fear is that Zamor will increase anti-Semitism," he said.
"Certainly there are few Jews who are happy to see Zmor face off because this is the first time the Jew has entered the race in France, but that is not a sufficient reason," Sharvit added.
"Zamor caused a split in the French far right," Sack explained.
"His entry into the race has created an even more extreme right than the far right led by Le Pen, which actually paved the way for her to advance to the second round of elections. Le Pen suddenly looks more moderate and normal, which now attracts voters who did not vote for her in 2017. And in the end, it deters voters and smuggles them to La Pen. "
news
World news
Europe
Tags
France
Emanuel
Marin Le Pen
Elections
Eric Zamor
Jean-Luc Melenchon
