by fnfeurope

A Letter From… France! 

 

 

European elections have always been atypical in France. Most French citizens have never really understood proportional elections and single ballots. In addition, non-EU related debates and programmes always prevailed.

This year’s European elections were no exception: lack of interest by citizens and the media, lack of knowledge about the election, lack of a European programme for most of the candidates on the electoral lists.

 

What is different in 2019 is the context: For the past six months, the yellow vests’ movement has absorbed all the attention of the media, with protesters looking for work and riots occurring each Saturday. Some thought this movement would not even last a month; others argued it was a new beginning. Both were wrong. Continue reading →

by fnfeurope

ALDE and Macron’s Renaissance List Form a Common Faction 

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European Liberals and French seal their cooperation in Strasbourg

“CC BY-NC-ND © ALDE Party”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Ca y est!” – “It’s done!”, is what many europhile liberals probably thought last weekend. After months of uncertainty about the political anchorage of the pro-European Renaissance list of French President Emmanuel Macron in the future European Parliament, the speculation should now have come to an end.

 

After first tentative cooperation attempts at the ALDE party congress in Madrid last November, European liberals and the French Renaissance list finally sealed their post-EU-election cooperation. The cooperation is based on a Memorandum of Understanding for a still nameless future faction. It is likely that the French name “Renaissance” will be retained, being in line with the ALDE election slogan “Renew Europe”.

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by fnfeurope

Franco-German Relations: What potential to influence the future of the EU?

 

Franco German Relations(1)

With a seemingly shifting world order, expectations towards the European Union are growing with regards to its ability to transform.

French President Emmanuel Macron laid out his vision for a more integrated Europe early during his presidency and made clear that these ambitions could not be realised without Germany. Even though Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed calls for reform, she remained hesitant to some of Macron’s ideas.

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by fnfeurope

Liberal Breakfast – The French Elections 2017: The Morning After

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Copyright: ALDE Party

Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron won the second round of the French presidential election against Front National’s Marine Le Pen with 66.1% of the votes. The political differences of the two candidates couldn’t be more distinct. On the one hand Macron, who originates from the liberal left and seeks more European integration to resolve the current issues of both France and the European Union. On the other hand Le Pen, a right-wing and Euro-sceptic politician that wants to dismantle the European project and establish protectionist policies in the French Republic. Where Macron and his political movement stand and whether they can unite the French people again was thus up for debate at the Liberal Breakfast the Monday morning after the presidential election at the ALDE Party Headquarters in Brussels.

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by fnfeurope

The French presidential candidates and their foreign policy vision

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With the final round of the presidential elections approaching, FNF Europe asked Katja Borck from the ‘Institut français des relations internationales’ (IFRI) on how foreign policy has played a role in the election campaign.

Looking at the two remaining candidates, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, voters will have to choose between candidates with two opposing visions on Europe. How could this impact the future with regards to the EU and in particular the Franco-German relations? 

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