Ms. Chassany’s descriptive analysis of the French political contest is awash in the indispensable polling numbers favored by a class of the pseudo-technocrats, whose corollaries in the American election, were proven to be, not exactly wrong, but wide of the mark. Even though Clinton leads the popular vote by, at last count, 2.5 million votes, she lost in the Electoral College.

Ms. Chassany’s essay takes as its point of departure the possible ‘lurch to the left’ of the French Socialists in the person of the ‘fiery leftwinger’ Arnaud Montebourg. The villain of the piece has been identified, to be compared to the, in sum, Neo-Liberal ‘Mr. Valls, a social democrat’: the political infection of the ‘Free Market Mythology’ is rampant across the desiccated political spectrum of an equally mythical ‘West’.

Define Mr. Valls’ and his politics as that of: ‘the instigator of President Hollande’s midterm shift in favour of tax cuts, deregulation and a measure of labour market flexibility.’… ‘The 54-year-old is also a strict secularist, backing controversial local bans on burkini swimsuits…’

But, here is a telling paragraph that lets the Financial Times reader know the full extent of the nihilism of ‘many leftwing  voters’:

‘“The problem for Valls is that for many leftwing voters, the primary is an opportunity to punish the outgoing government, not to choose the best presidential candidate,” says François Miquet-Marty, head of ViaVoice, a pollster. “The Socialist party could go the way of the Labour party by nominating someone like Montebourg, who is to the left of the party’s centre of gravity. This could result in the party splitting up.”’

Mr. Valls looks to be a ‘social democrat‘ with a great deal in common with the Marinetti-Thatcherite Fillon, except for the exaltation of ‘speed’ and ‘shock’ in his politics that seeks ‘to eradicate French gloom’ .

Old Socialist

https://www.ft.com/content/7a5396a4-be05-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080