Marine Le Pen has been mentioned in the press a lot recently, especially in connection to Donald Trump. The reason that the media has reported on her supporting Trump as much as they have is because she might be France’s next President and with many feeling that one Trump is one too many, the prospect of a “European Trump” is terrifying. But what does Le Pen actually want? What are the similarities between her and Trump? And what would she and Trump mean for the future of the world?
Most people probably know who Trump is, but Marine Le Pen might be more of a mystery. Here is some information about her: Marine Le Pen is the leader of Front National, which is a socially conservative nationalist French political party, a supporter of Trump and possibly France’s future President in 2017. She took over the position as president of Front National from her father in 2011. In the last election, Front National got 17.9% of the votes, which was a huge victory for the party, and with the 2017 election approaching fast, Front National has their sights set on the top. Trump’s victory and the Brexit decision could help excite Le Pen’s current base and expand it so much that she might become France’s next president.
Le Pen and Trump have become the champions of the rural, middle- and lower-class citizen, which is strange considering that they both come from extremely privileged backgrounds. Le Pen was practically born into politics since her father is the former leader of Front National and she has been campaigning with him since she was just a little kid. And Trump was given a ‘small’ loan of $14 million from his father, which really isn’t what the average person starts off with.
Similarly to Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen comes from a privileged background but has still managed to become the voice of the people.
Not all people, though. Both Le Pen and Trump are known for offensive and racists statements. Le Pen even went on trial in Lyon for comparing Muslims praying in the streets to Nazi occupation. While Trump hasn’t been to court because of his racist and islamophobic remarks, such as when he was a champion for the birther movement, called Mexicans rapists and made remarks about the Khan family, he sure has said his fair share of unacceptable things. This similarity is one of the most troubling and their actions are normalizing the kind of hateful rhetoric that is dividing society, making people feel unsafe and is causing hate crimes to rise. Presidents shouldn’t be on trial for hate speech or generalize entire groups of people the way Le Pen and Trump do. They should be open-minded, graceful, knowledgeable and really importantly, decent human beings.
One of the other important and noticeable similarities is that they both claim to be outsiders who are unaffected by external influences. Trump insist that he is completely independent and isn’t influenced by lobbyists since he didn’t need them their help to fund his campaign. He has even promised to get rid all of Washington lobbyists. Similarly, Marine Le Pen also promises to govern independently and has said “I claim complete freedom … freedom from the powers to which others have submitted, namely money, whether it be from Qatar or the big banks and multinational firms that buy everything,” The consequence of their anti-lobbyists policies is that they only owe loyalty to the voters, which gives them the freedom to actually get things done.
However, because Le Pen and Trump both lack(ed) backing from prominent organizations they have both faced financial obstacles during their campaigns. Financially, Trump could never catch up to Clinton, who was a fundraising machine during the U.S. presidential election, raising almost twice as much money as Trump. Le Pen, on her side of the Atlantic, is no stranger to money problems and Front National stated this year that it “was still missing €25 million, needed to fund her presidential and legislative campaigns next year.” Economic problems can be deeply unsettling, but Marine Le Pen probably sleeps easier at night knowing that Trump still managed to win. What Trump lacked in fundraising capabilities he made up for with his ability to create enthusiasm and get people to the polls.
Since Le Pen appeals to the same people who feel anger and disappointment towards the system, it is entirely possible for her to drum up the same kind of enthusiasm that he did. One Le Pen supporter told Politico “We are the France that has been forgotten, the France that has been lost,” José said. “We’re not in Paris, Lyon or the biggest cities, so we have no representation and no right to speak […] Marine is our only hope.” Sound familiar? If you just change the names of the places in this quote, it sounds just like something a Trump supporter would say.
Trump and Le Pen are becoming the voice of the people who feel forgotten and left behind in a more and more globalized world.
However, voters don’t just want change. They mainly want change when it comes to immigration and the economy. Therefore, Le Pen and Trump, who are both more or less anti-immigration and economic populists, appeal to a lot of people. Le Pen promised to build walls to keep out refugees, which sounds eerily similar to Trump’s plans to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border. Furthermore, they both put their own country’s needs first and that includes jobs. Many of the people that vote for Le Pen and Trump feel forgotten and left behind and are hoping that these candidates can slow down and even repeal the process of globalization.
Since they are so homeland-oriented, they both dismiss climate change as a real and pressing issue. Le Pen doesn’t want France to be part of international climate deals and wants to focus more on strengthening domestic industries. That sounds exactly like what Trump wants, since he too doesn’t want America to be part of big climate deals, and might even try to back out of the one Obama already agreed to. He also intends to focus on domestic industries, vowing to open up coal mines again and kick-start the defense industry. The disregard for global issues and cooperation that they both show is extremely concerning for the rest of the world. Because while America and France aren’t as exposed to the current impacts of global warming, countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh are. Le Pen and Trump need to understand that the actions of the people in their countries are hurting people in other nations.
In conclusion, Trump, and Le Pen are both anti-establishment, anti-mainstream media, anti-immigration and want their respective governments to put their own citizens first. They show a complete lack of understanding for how complicated international issues are. If Le Pen wins, she would turn the spotlight to the small-minded and dangerous views she and Trump have. And as Le Pen herself put it, it would be: “the end of a world.” The end of an inclusive and open-minded world.
