Sentient
In the final 44 hours before Sunday's first round of the French Presidential election, rules impose a moratorium on any form of political promotion. Candidates' Twitter feeds went quiet after midnight on Friday.
But that doesn't mean that the rest of the world stopped posting, tweeting, updating and blogging. One troubling development: a recent Oxford University study found that fake news accounted for 25 percent of all political links shared on Twitter in France, but concluded that the problem was not as bad as in the US.
Two events of the past few days could influence French voters.
First, the killing of traffic officer Xavier Jugele (and the wounding of two others) by ISIL-claimed follower (but French national) Karim Cheurfi on the Champs-Élysées Thursday night. Cheurfi was jailed for 20 years in 2001 for trying to kill police officers, but freed after serving most of his sentence. He reportedly parked his Audi and opened fire on police who were stopped at a red light.
Marine Le Pen called for France to immediately take back control of its own borders from the European Union and deport all foreigners on the terror watchlist. Macron, who is said to be ahead of Le Pen in the polls, told a French radio "I think we must one and all have a spirit of responsibility at this extreme time and not give in to panic and not allow it to be exploited, which some might try to do."
In response to Ms Le Pen's comments Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve said "Nothing, no element of the inquiry, no intelligence enables us to make any link whatsoever between immigration and asylum and what happened last night in Paris."
Second, swathes of French riot police had to fire tear gas into a 200-strong mob in Paris. The event was a planned march that turned ugly as flares and makeshift weapons were thrown at officers.
With these new developments being put into perspective by French voters (28% of whom are still undecided), I wanted a snapshot of the mood of the electorate in the final hours before Sunday's vote. Hadar Marseille, three cards with no position meanings plus one "Non-obvious factor."
Interpretation>
Le Soleil [r]
The reversed Sun is telling. For too many, the glories of France are far away. The prosperous, peaceful country that people remember has been replaced by a France that's under siege and struggling economically. Hadar's wall has three colors: red, sunshine yellow and blue, suggestive of the Tricolore. The children playing in the garden are protected from inimical forces, and are free to thrive. Reversed, this paradise evaporates like the morning dew.
La Iustice
Calls for justice echo loudly every time a new terrorist strikes and a new victim dies. Most terrorists are killed in their attacks, leaving feelings of shock and anger with nowhere to go. The French are not Islamophobes; they do not desire revenge. But in a world where one Tunisian uses his cargo truck to kill 86 people and wound 434 on Bastille day, and coordinated attacks in Paris kill 130 people and wound 368, the scales of Justice aren't balanced. President Hollande named the Paris attacks an "act of war."
[Vaslet de Deniers]
Amid these powerful forces stands the Page of Coins. He is Everyman, and he has no title. Unimpressive, overlooked and struggling to get by (unemployment is around 25% for young people), the ordinary French citizen plays little role in the fate of nations except during elections such as this. Those with better jobs and more education are less sensitive to the ebbs and flows of the economic cycle. It's the Everyman and Everywoman that suffer most when conditions turn.
One Coin is in hand for the income they depend on; one Coin in the ground for the assets they can fall back on. The Page is not looking to Justice to guide the country back to rights, nor the forces of law and order. Injustice and disorder, though potent catalysts, are merely drivers for the desire to have back again what once was. Whether it's desire for a lost job, remembrance of happier times, or longing for the Ancien Régime, France, now pressed, is looking backward, not forward.
Non-obvious Factor: L'Empereur
Law and order are hardly overlooked elements in the current election, but their full meaning has yet to be revealed. When a policeman sitting in his car is slaughtered on the Champs-Élysées, it underscores the feeling that no one is safe. Although Le Pen is credited with around 23% of the vote going into Sunday's election, 51% of the Gendarmerie (the military branch of the French police) are planing to vote for her. A fresh outrage seems tailor-made for her message.
Alternative views welcome.
But that doesn't mean that the rest of the world stopped posting, tweeting, updating and blogging. One troubling development: a recent Oxford University study found that fake news accounted for 25 percent of all political links shared on Twitter in France, but concluded that the problem was not as bad as in the US.
Two events of the past few days could influence French voters.
First, the killing of traffic officer Xavier Jugele (and the wounding of two others) by ISIL-claimed follower (but French national) Karim Cheurfi on the Champs-Élysées Thursday night. Cheurfi was jailed for 20 years in 2001 for trying to kill police officers, but freed after serving most of his sentence. He reportedly parked his Audi and opened fire on police who were stopped at a red light.
Marine Le Pen called for France to immediately take back control of its own borders from the European Union and deport all foreigners on the terror watchlist. Macron, who is said to be ahead of Le Pen in the polls, told a French radio "I think we must one and all have a spirit of responsibility at this extreme time and not give in to panic and not allow it to be exploited, which some might try to do."
In response to Ms Le Pen's comments Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve said "Nothing, no element of the inquiry, no intelligence enables us to make any link whatsoever between immigration and asylum and what happened last night in Paris."
Second, swathes of French riot police had to fire tear gas into a 200-strong mob in Paris. The event was a planned march that turned ugly as flares and makeshift weapons were thrown at officers.
With these new developments being put into perspective by French voters (28% of whom are still undecided), I wanted a snapshot of the mood of the electorate in the final hours before Sunday's vote. Hadar Marseille, three cards with no position meanings plus one "Non-obvious factor."
Interpretation>
Le Soleil [r]
The reversed Sun is telling. For too many, the glories of France are far away. The prosperous, peaceful country that people remember has been replaced by a France that's under siege and struggling economically. Hadar's wall has three colors: red, sunshine yellow and blue, suggestive of the Tricolore. The children playing in the garden are protected from inimical forces, and are free to thrive. Reversed, this paradise evaporates like the morning dew.
La Iustice
Calls for justice echo loudly every time a new terrorist strikes and a new victim dies. Most terrorists are killed in their attacks, leaving feelings of shock and anger with nowhere to go. The French are not Islamophobes; they do not desire revenge. But in a world where one Tunisian uses his cargo truck to kill 86 people and wound 434 on Bastille day, and coordinated attacks in Paris kill 130 people and wound 368, the scales of Justice aren't balanced. President Hollande named the Paris attacks an "act of war."
[Vaslet de Deniers]
Amid these powerful forces stands the Page of Coins. He is Everyman, and he has no title. Unimpressive, overlooked and struggling to get by (unemployment is around 25% for young people), the ordinary French citizen plays little role in the fate of nations except during elections such as this. Those with better jobs and more education are less sensitive to the ebbs and flows of the economic cycle. It's the Everyman and Everywoman that suffer most when conditions turn.
One Coin is in hand for the income they depend on; one Coin in the ground for the assets they can fall back on. The Page is not looking to Justice to guide the country back to rights, nor the forces of law and order. Injustice and disorder, though potent catalysts, are merely drivers for the desire to have back again what once was. Whether it's desire for a lost job, remembrance of happier times, or longing for the Ancien Régime, France, now pressed, is looking backward, not forward.
Non-obvious Factor: L'Empereur
Law and order are hardly overlooked elements in the current election, but their full meaning has yet to be revealed. When a policeman sitting in his car is slaughtered on the Champs-Élysées, it underscores the feeling that no one is safe. Although Le Pen is credited with around 23% of the vote going into Sunday's election, 51% of the Gendarmerie (the military branch of the French police) are planing to vote for her. A fresh outrage seems tailor-made for her message.
Alternative views welcome.
