Welcome to the European office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. Our activities aim at fostering dialogue on European politics, democracy and human rights and transatlantic relations.
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.
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.
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?
Am kommenden Sonntag, dem 7. Mai, findet in Frankreich die Stichwahl um das Amt des französischen Staatspräsidenten statt. Nur einen Monat später, zwischen dem 11. und 18. Juni, sind die Franzosen aufgerufen, die 577 Abgeordneten ihres Parlaments, der Assemblée Nationale, neu zu wählen.
After the elections in the Netherlands, France is electing a new President May 7, one month before the British are called to the polls again.
The French Socialists have voted for Benoit Hamon, former Minister of Education, to enter the presidential elections on the socialist ticket. With a number of strong candidates already in the race, Hamon’s chances to succeed President François Hollande are slim. Guillaume Périgois, Publishing Director of the liberal news platform Contrepoints, takes a closer look at the candidates’ profiles.
All eyes are on France this week as the country plays host to the 2016 European football championship. Politically, however, the country is experiencing turmoil. An unpopular President Hollande is trying to push for urgently needed labor market reform. Meanwhile the handling of the refugee crisis and the threat of terrorism is boosting France’s far-right Front National (FN) party. In 2017 the French will go to the polls to elect a new President and Parliament. We sat down with the French liberal Marshall Memorial Fellow Bruno Selun to discuss the state of the FN in France today, looking ahead to 2017.
