The mayor of the southern French town of Béziers predicts a Marine Le Pen victory would be like the Trump “revolution against the elite” in the U.S., and slammed globalist candidate Emmanuel Macron and Hillary Clinton as part of “the system”.
Interviewed by the BBC for Radio 4’s Today programme, Mayor Robert Ménard, who takes a hard line on illegal migrants, said a victory for the Front National leader would be a “radical change” which would give Le Pen’s voters a sense they would be listened to and protected.
“I think it would be a radical change. First of all as a state of mind,” Mr. Ménard said.
“The people who vote for Le Pen, the [so-called] ‘little people’, will have the feeling they are going to be defended, listened to. That they are not treated as less than nothing. That we’re paying attention to what they say.”
Beziers’ mayor Robert Menard (C) leads a municipal council in Beziers, southern France, on October 18, 2016, during which a local referendum on the welcoming of migrants to the city was planned to take place at the end of the meeting. (Photo credit: SYLVAIN THOMAS/AFP/Getty)
President Donald J. Trump also ran a campaign focused on Middle America, pledging to listen to the concerns of working class Americans as well as protecting them and their jobs.
The independent mayor, who is supported by the anti-mass migration party, sees the Front National as a vanguard in reshaping France’s political right, and compared a potential Le Pen win to President Trump’s victory in the U.S.
“[Trump’s election] represents a revolution in the United States. A revolution against the elite.”
Mr. Ménard, who has recently been fined for pointing out the massive demographic shift in schools in Béziers, where in one class he said 91 per cent of pupils are Muslim, slammed open borders and globalist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, comparing him to former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“I couldn’t vote for Mrs. Clinton as I couldn’t vote for Macron. Because they are the same. They are always on the right [‘correct’] side,” he said.
“They always take advantage of the system. They are the system.”
Wikileaks revealed Macron was working on an alliance with Mrs. Clinton last year before her defeat in the U.S. presidential election.
Following Macron’s progression to the second round of the presidential elections on 23 April, the former banker spoke to former U.S. President Barack Obama, tweeting afterwards: “Let’s keep defending our progressive values. Thank you for this discussion @BarackObama.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.