Yet Hollande is just one of five leftists in Sunday’s race — and he’s the most moderate and pragmatic of the bunch. If fiery rival Jean-Luc Melenchon, with his red neck-scarves and rallies thick with communist red flags, scores strongly, he and his voters will press Hollande to swing his own policies even farther leftward.
Speaking to international reporters Friday, Melenchon — who wants to tax the ultra-rich at 100 percent — called international finance “parasitic.” He criticized U.S. hegemony and military might, looking instead to communist China for partnership.
FEAR OF ISLAM
On the other side of the spectrum, the campaign fear-mongering has a different focus: France’s No. 2 religion.
Far right candidate Marine Le Pen rails against the “Islamization” of France and made a stink about the widespread availability of halal meat and Muslims praying on sidewalks for lack of mosque space.
The rhetoric horrifies many voters and stigmatizes France’s estimated 5 million Muslims — Western Europe’s largest Muslim population. But it’s hit a nerve among many French, especially after a suspected gunman killed Jewish schoolchildren and paratroopers in the name of radical Islam in a rampage last month. to the entire article here
