https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...lace-francois-fillon-french-presidential-race Well it looks like @Asyncritus was right, but not quite the way he meant, I think. I'd be mighty surprised if Fillon now made it into the second round with Le Pen. I'm hoping Emmanuel Macron, not because I don't think he's a sort of Blairite à la française but because he's the person most likely to beat Le Pen. Hell, France can live with Blairism, which is basically what it's had under Hollande. What a mess.
A new poll shows that three quarters of the French electorate not only have no intention of voting for Fillon, they want him to withdraw from the race. So his goose is cooked good and proper. He might as well withdraw. What sayeth @Asyncritus now?
The French race is an exercise in fascination. There's Fillon, who did wrong and took money from the taxpayer. HANG HIM HIGHER! There's LePen, who did wrong and took money from the taxpayer. WHO CARES?! Xenophobia works. Hate makes people forget. Allez, Macron!
Yes, that pisses me off too. But the Fillon thing is a true can of worms --- like Watergate, it has grown in scope virtually week by week. Seems to me the mainline French media is much more appalled by the prospect of a President Le Pen than of a President Fillon. So if they haven't made a bigger deal of her misusing public funds, it's probably because it's limited in scope. And anyway, we know from the Donald campaign that when you're a fascist demagogue, no revelation on earth is going to dissuade your supporters.
