Check this out:
That’s not healthy for any society. Old people hanging on to their benefits through political clout. But will the oldies get out in the streets to defend their way of life, beat down the young people? I’ll bet if you look around there are plenty more Western countries in this situation. Starting with Italy, but not stopping there.
Le Pen ran on leaving NATO. So, again, it looks like it’s the oldies who, way disproportionately, want to remain in NATO and poke the Bear.
The “oldies” don’t have to get out in the street to defend their pensions, vacation homes, vaccine status (vaxxed and boosted) because the politics of fear worked! Nevertheless, and considering the huge abstention rate of about 30%, Macron’s share of the vote fell by 10%, while Le Pen’s increased by same. So a vote for Le Pen was a voice against Macron, and a good number who voted for him did so gloomily. Going forward, I think it will not be smooth sailing for Macron - of course by cleverly killing off both Left and Right challengers, he himself bears the brunt of responsibility in so dividing France (cf Obama)…re Le Pen, she can’t win the presidency. France is in dire straits.
Interesting long term strategy to retain power: have fewer babies.