Amid France’s political 'fragmentation', 'a case needs to be made for participatory democracy’

Carys Garland is pleased to welcome Dr. Andrew Smith, Historian of Modern France and Lecturer in Liberal Arts at Queen Mary University of London. He argues that Marine Le Pen and the National Rally’s commanding position in early presidential polling should not be regarded as an inevitable far-right victory. They are benefiting from familiarity, unity and laser-focused messaging. More fundamentally, however, Smith sees the polling as a reflection of a French electorate shaped by anger, anxiety, economic insecurity and political fatigue. Rather than describing this landscape simply as one of growing “polarization,” he proposes the more revealing concept of “fragmentation.”  #France #PresidentialElection #FarRight 🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen 🔴 LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN 🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/ Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen