Angelique ChrisafisVerified account

2/ France's mass unemployment problem came up again and again as a key source of worry & anger at the political class

3/ There was overwhelming sense of wanting to kick the current political system, send the harshest message possible in the presidential vote

4/ Many intending to vote Le Pen hadn't voted Le Pen in any election before & hadn't voted in local elections in the past 5 years.

5/ More anti EU-feeling among Le Pen and Mélenchon voters than general polls might suggest

6/ Anger at the traditional political class and total breakdown in trust for them. Distrust of media.

7/ Voters who said they were undecided didn't mean they were left-wing. There were undecided voters who said they might choose Le Pen

8/ A fluidity & wavering in choices. A trad right-wing voter who said "why not try Le Pen?" A 2012 Mélenchon voter who would choose Macron

9/ Majority said the most important thing was change. "Things have to change","Things have to be shaken up"

Anyone who has stood in north England knows that anger but will it vote for a Prez Le Pen after remarks on Jews, destroying savings? Non

Shame you didn't do anything about that anger Denis. Under New Labour British manufacturing declined by 25%!

How much during Thatcher?

There have been 13 years of Labour government since Thatcher left power 27 years ago!

No I wasn't making a point I was asking for the figures -percentage decline

Thanks -I was surprised at the % drop in manufacturing during Blair yrs clearly a context in terms of world trade rise of China &rebalancing

No. The context was an over valued pound & a complete absence of a proper industrial strategy! New Labour's fault.

What you're saying is rural French voters are probably going to screw their country over the way rural US voters did here.

Perhaps because in both case, politicians screwed the rural world first.

Missing how rural America got screwed over by the politicians. They're heavily subsidized by urban America

Yes because subsidies are the cure for everything. Subsidies are just something you give when too lazy to figure out a real solution.

And what's the "real solution"?

Ask the farmers, the workers, the youth living there. They know what they need. It's not subsidies, it's a future.

"They know what they need: A vaguely defined concept!"

A very well defined concept that requires more than 140 characters.