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SHOCKWAVE: France Dumps Mainstream in Battle over 'Savage Globalization'

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The French voted for a new leader Sunday and two candidates with opposite views of the European Union won the first round of France's presidential election.
 
Thirty-nine-year-old centrist Emmanuel Macron and the right wing populist Marine Le Pen will face off in the second round on May 7. 
 
Both are political outsiders, but Le Pen is the candidate who really scares the establishment because she wants a revolution in French government policy. 
 
A first round victory doesn't necessarily mean a final round victory for Le Pen, but a final round victory would send shockwaves across Europe and world.
 
Le Pen wants to leave the European Union, dump the euro currency, quit NATO and close the borders. She's also an economic protectionist. 
 
Meanwhile, Macron, a progressive former investment banker, styles himself as pro-business and pro-European union.
 
In his victory speech, Marcon told supporters, "I will be the president of the patriots against the nationalists' threat."
 
Le Pen and her supporters talk as if this election is the last chance to save France.  "What is at stake in this election is savage globalization, which jeopardizes our civilization," she warned at a campaign event.
 
The French political establishment immediately urged voters to block Le Pen's path to power in the runoff in two weeks, saying her policies would spell disaster for France.
 
Like last month's Dutch election, the runoff will be a referendum on membership in the European Union, one that the polls say the pro-EU Macron could win easily, by almost 30 points.
 
Le Pen will be hoping for support from the far-Left, which also opposes the EU.
 

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About The Author

Dale
Hurd

Since joining CBN News, Dale has reported extensively from Western Europe, as well as China, Russia, and Central and South America. Dale also covered China's opening to capitalism in the early 1990s, as well as the Yugoslav Civil War. CBN News awarded him its Command Performance Award for his reporting from Moscow and Sarajevo. Since 9/11, Dale has reported extensively on various aspects of the global war on terror in the United States and Europe. Follow Dale on Twitter @dalehurd and "like" him at Facebook.com/DaleHurdNews.