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Macron over Le Pen

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THE WINNER: French president-elect Emmanuel Macron celebrates on the stage at his victory rally near the Louvre in Paris, Reuters/UNI

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]To the French, a known devil is better than an unknown angel

By Shailaja Paramathma

Congratulations France for walking on the razor’s edge and crossing over intact, your fabled capriciousness saving the day. At a time when nations across the board seem to be giving in to the fear of the other—of Muslims in India, of immigrants in the United States and the European Union, and of the European Union in Britain—the French questioned the fear and arrived at a decision unique to themselves. Their choice in their own words was between “the plague and the cholera” and they decided to go with the “banker instead of the fascist”. So Emmanuel Macron becomes the youngest person to ever become president of any country, raising the ambitions of Generation-X parents across the globe. And Marine Le Pen goes back to a party that has never won the presidential elections in France but has brought it closer this time to the presidential seat than ever before.

Where there is moolah

The French are intellectually snobbish about money. So when they had to choose between pro-globalisation Macron and anti-immigration Le Pen as their next president, it was a war between their disdain for capitalists and their intellect telling them that fascism was wrong. And the more the rest of the world opted for rightism, the more eager they became to distance themselves from the ideology and decisively prove to the world that they were not a part of it.

Post the results of the election on Sunday, they confirmed that they had not fallen for the “poudre de perlimpinpin” (like Macron called Le Pen’s solutions to the economic problems of France), a remedy pretending to be miraculous but is absolutely bogus and ineffective in reality. But this was even as they signed arrogant-sounding petitions before it, saying: “Macron, I will vote for you not because I choose you but because I choose to make Le Pen fail.” This was their way of informing Macron that he had not won over their hearts but had just happened to be at the right place at the right time. To clarify their stand to the rest of the world so that they themselves did not have to go to bed feeling conquered, the petitions also said, “I will celebrate if you (Macron) win on May 7, but know that the very next day I will be part of the opposition.”

How come Le Pen?

While they defiantly insisted that Macron was not their candidate, the fact remains that the guys they claimed to agree with—the conservative François Fillon and the revolutionary Leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon—did not even make it to the finals. Yes, on the surface it seems like the French did not fall for the development card as we did in India and they did not give in to fear like the Americans did but they did allow Le Pen’s Front National to make it to round two yet again in 2017.

The easy claim that the French can make of intellectual and cultural superiority over the Americans has been testified in literature, movies and art century after century. They unhesitatingly regard Americans as a population without culture or morals who are forever after money, control and power. While these assumptions may ring true to some minds, it is also true that as globalisation created new jobs in big French cities, it also created unemployment in rural France which was double the national average, which is a very American phenomenon. And these are the places where the Front National under Marine Le Pen’s new marketing and self-promotion method of campaigning eked out a pretty strong base for itself.

ROUNDLY DEFEATED: Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party leader and candidate for French 2017 presidential election, casts her ballot in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Henin-Beaumont, Reuters/UNI

ROUNDLY DEFEATED: Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party leader and candidate for French 2017 presidential election, casts her ballot in the first round of 2017 French presidential election at a polling station in Henin-Beaumont, Reuters/UNI

Yet, notwithstanding her preference to be called Marine, her inheritance of the tainted Le Pen legacy has for the time being diverted her away from the seat of power. However, one must not over-celebrate this victory and one should definitely not negate the presence of fear and hatred in the French society for the other, for unchecked globalisation and loss in job share.

What next?

Right-of-centre Macron’s win over Le Pen on Sunday in France has liberals all over the world finding at best a sense of vindication and at least a respite. Post the Brexit referendum and following the election of Donald Trump in the US, this is no mean feat. They may breathe easy now but they will have to give space and support to Macron when very soon the establishment will find ways to stall him. They will have to continue to see with their discerning eye through media lies and leaked emails. They will have to remain fearless and take into fold the disenfranchised and the old and make them feel integrated in their societies.

Macron’s party, En Marche, might have won the battle but they are yet to win the war. The way ahead is still a big question mark. The legislative elections that will take place in June are crucial. Mid-June French citizens will once again head to the polls for two rounds of voting to elect the country’s 577 members of parliament. En Marche has currently no parliamentary seats or backing. The result of the June elections will be a test of the authority of the new president’s office. If Macron does not win a parliamentary majority, making his reform proposals see the light of day can become a distant dream. If he is constantly opposed and harassed, the quick-tempered Macron may find himself in a position à la Kejriwal and then it will only be a matter of five years before Le Pen finds herself contesting the elections again with a much bigger promise of getting her hands on the keys to the Élysée Palace.

But irrespective of what lies ahead, next time a Hollywood movie wants to depict a Frenchman as the poor cousin from the village with a flock of sheep following him on a rural road, they need to hold up a mirror to their faces and see themselves for what they truly represent, believe in and have chosen as their president. They largely misrepresent Muslims, too, in their movies but that we can come to at another date. For the time being the French is back in fashion.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Video of Sikh shopkeeper fending off robbers in London goes viral, users laud the shopkeeper | Watch

The Sikh man can be seen alarming and screaming at the masked men as they run out of the store and lurk on the gate in a bid to intimidate. However, the Sikh man then can be seen rushing towards his cabinet and pulling out a cricket bat which made the robbers flee.

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A video has been making rounds on the internet where a Sikh shopkeeper can be seen fending away men trying to rob his shop. The video is reported to be from a shop in London. The video, so far has been viewed by 61 thousand people.

In the video, several masked men can be seen entering and browsing through the shop as the Sikh man approaches the counter. However, things take an awry turn as one of the masked men try to jump over the counter. The Sikh man can then be seen reaching for his Kirpan, after which the Robber’s retire.

Watch video here:

The Sikh man can be seen alarming and screaming at the masked men as they run out of the store and lurk on the gate in a bid to intimidate. However, the Sikh man then can be seen rushing towards his cabinet and pulling out a cricket bat.

Upon witnessing the Sikh shopkeeper pulling out a bat, the robbers flee from the place. He can then be seen rushing toward the gate to lock it in a bid to stop them from attacking again.

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Twitter user’s reaction

After the video of the incident went viral, many users came forward to add their take on the incident as one user wrote praised the Sikh man for being brave, implying that the Sikh man fending away 3 robbers from his shop is a brave act.

One user highlighted how the robber who tried to jump over the counter had a change of heart after witnnessing the Sikh man pulling out a weapon. The user further praised the Sikh man for his braveness.

One user wrote that the robbers fled even before the Sikh man could take out his Kirpan. The user further wrote claimed that the robbers must have thought that the Sikh man was armed and was pulling out a gun.

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Video of US couple feeding alligator grilled sandwich in Florida goes viral, users in splits | Watch

After feeding it, the man goes on to pick another piece of the grilled sandwich as he waits for the alligator to come back. The woman in the video can also be seen in an unfazed state as she continues to snack on the grilled sandwich that is left.

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US couple feeding alligator

A bizarre video has come to light from the USA’s Florida where a couple can be seen feeding an alligator a grilled sandwich. The video was uploaded by a page named Onlyinfloridaa which usually shares videos of incidents that happen in Florida.

In the video, a man can be seen sitting in a stream with his partner as he goes on to offer a piece of grilled sandwich to an alligator, unfazed by the thought of getting eaten by the feral animal. The man can be seen feeding the alligator with the sandwich and then petting it as well.

Watch video here:

After feeding it, the man goes on to pick another piece of the grilled sandwich as he waits for the alligator to come back. The woman in the video can also be seen in an unfazed state as she continues to snack on the grilled sandwich that is left.

User’s reaction

After the video of the incident went viral, many users came forward to add their take on the incident as one user wrote and question if the woman was eating grilled cheese, implying that the Aligator might have spared the couple because of the grilled cheese sandwich they offered.

One user wrote and said that everyone believes that alligators associate people with food and further facetiously wrote that alligators must have thought that the couple is food and have come with appetizers.
One user wrote and said that they watched the whole video in hopes that they would see the alligator grip the couple and do the death roll that the feral animal is famous for.

One user wrote and said that their partner was asking to go out for a date and after watching this video, they know where to take their partner on the date. The user further termed the date to be very unique.

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Pakistan cannot afford bananas during Ramzan

Pakistan’s economic crisis is worsening with each passing day with prices of basic vegetables and fruits rising up continuously.

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Pakistan banana price

The world is aware of Pakistan’s economic crisis and it seems bananas can now only be eaten by affluent households in the country. The Banana Republic of Pakistan! Yes. This is how internet users named the country after bananas’ price skyrocketed to Rs 500 per dozen during Ramzan.

Pakistani journalist Naila Inayat took to Twitter to share a post that read that prices of bananas shoot to Rs.500/Dozen in Pakistan.

Have a look at the tweet here:

Apart from bananas, prices of other fruits including grapes have also increased during the Islamic festival celebrated across the world.

Pakistan’s economic crisis is worsening with each passing day with prices of basic vegetables and fruits rising up continuously. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said the inflation based on sensitive price indicators was recorded at 47 per cent year on year on March 22.

A report in Mint said the prices of onions in the country increased by 228.28 per cent, wheat flour by 120.66 per cent, cigarettes by 165.88 per cent, gas charges for Q1 by 108.38 per cent, and Lipton tea by 94.60 per cent. Bananas’ prices have spiked by 89.84 per cent, diesel by 102.84 per cent, eggs by 79.56 per cent, and petrol by 81.17 per cent.

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Pakistan is currently going through a massive lack of foreign currency to maintain its balance of payments as a result of the ongoing economic crisis and the holdup in IMF loans.

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