Why Conservatives Should Care About the French Election

On Sunday, Emmanuel Macron convincingly defeated French National Front candidate Marine Le Pen with a margin of 66.1% to 33.9%. Immediately Left wing and center-right proponents celebrated what they called a “turning of the tide”. As one self-identified Republican on my own Facebook feed said “Big win for Europe and the world. Turning back the tide.” To understand this reaction to Le Pen’s defeat, it is important to understand the worldview her movement is responding to, and what European nationalists are pushing for.

Marine Le Pen and the French National Front are France’s version of the European nationalism phenomena that has resulted in Brexit, anti-EU sentiment throughout Europe, and the growth of many nationalist parties. These movements are a backlash to the development of a faction within the Left that has become dedicated to what is a called a “globalist’ worldview. This worldview is based on the idea that the world economy and interdependence has developed to such an extent that it necessitates an open common world market, completely open borders, and a strong system of global governance. In this global world, states would essentially disappear as any relevant social construct, as they would have very limited power over their laws, no borders, and a global identity would be fostered instead of national identities. The EU experiment with a common market, common currency, and European parliament and bureaucracy has benefitted European economies greatly by increasing international trade and business, and has fostered a “European” mentality that has come to supercede national identities in some ways . On the other hand, the EU’s growth in political and economic power has diminished the sovereignty of member states. This diminishing of sovereignty has most recently been highlighted in the controversy over the EU mandating member states to allow refugees to resettle in the EU, and the Greek financial crisis.

Individuals concerned with the lack of sovereignty, challenges to cultural heritage and civilizational continuity, have combined with individuals who have struggled to compete in the new European market to form these new National populist movements. These movements generally support restrictive immigration policies and border controls, protectionist economic policies, strong central governments, returning power to nation-states, and preserving national identities. These groups also tend not to have strong stances on social issues such as right to life, and are fine with big government, so long as it is doing what benefits them. This may sound familiar to American voters as this rhetoric is very similar to the ideas that President Trump ran on. These movements have continued to gain ground in Europe as sexual violence and crime perpetrated by refugees has increased, and Islamic terrorist attacks have swept through Europe. Until Sunday, these nationalist groups had been perceived to be on a roll and the “Globalists” had become very worried that these movements would lead to the end of the EU and Post-World War II international relations as we know it.

What is the conservative perspective on these two movements and what they advocate? As conservatives, we support economic freedom and free trade, as they lead to greater economic prosperity, innovation, and personal liberty. As such, the “globalist” aim of a completely open global economy is something that conservatives would support, as the end of protectionist policies would lead to the most economic prosperity for everyone. Conservative principles, however, do not align with the remainder of the “globalist” worldview, in that we know that national governments are best equipped to fulfill the purpose of government: protecting the natural rights of citizens. As such, conservatives would support the robust sovereignty that nationalists push for, and recognize that one of the Federal government’s few powers given by the Constitution is national defense and immigration policy. Conservatives also agree with nationalists that immigration policy and maintaining Western civilization is vital to the survival of our way of life. Open borders and unfettered immigration can lead to multiculturalism, and large groups of individuals who do not subscribe to principles of Western civilization such as religious tolerance, separation of church and state, rule of law, and natural rights. If a large group within the country does not subscribe to those principles, there will not be enough law enforcement to protect other citizens who live by these principles. But, as with the “globalists”, conservative principles do not align perfectly with the nationalists agenda, in that we, as conservatives, understand the dangers and economic costs associated with protectionism and big government, and believe that it is important to take stands on social issues such as protecting the right to life and religious liberty.

So is Marine Le Pen a “right wing” heroine we, as conservatives, should unite behind? No. We may agree with her and those who share her worldview on issues such as immigration and sovereignty, but that is where the shared values end. As Steve Deace put it, “Marie Le Pen isn't a heroine. She's not a conservative. She's not right-wing. She's just a pro-abort statist who doesn't mind killing French innocents provided a French citizen who isn't Muslim does it. Nothing says ‘preserving your heritage’ like killing your own offspring before they're born. Like the New York liberal she's often compared to, Le Pen is a con.”

Does Sunday’s result spell and end or a turning of the tide for European nationalism? No, I don’t think so. As long as there are issues with civilizational assimilation, violence by migrants, Islamic terrorist attacks, and limits on sovereignty, the nationalists will have support and very likely will grow in strength. If the trends of violence in France continue, there’s a good chance that Le Pen could be back and assuming the role of president of France in 2020. May 7th wasn’t the end of the war between the nationalists and “globalists,” just one battle.