On Sunday, France elected centrist Emmanuel Macron as their youngest-ever president over far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen in a margin of about 66% to 34%, to much celebration and despite the leaking of hacked emails (and falsified documents) aimed at undermining Macron’s campaign. On the downside, it was the lowest voter turnout (75%) in France since 1969 (although a similar turnout in the US would be the highest turnout since 1896), and a record number of voters cast a blank ballot, which counts toward voter turnout stats but isn’t counted towards the candidates’ voter share. The blank vote — the ballot blanc — is a fittingly French act of refusal, and a record 9% of voters showed up at the polls on Sunday to vote for “nobody”.
Macron’s win was also tempered by another bad sign for future elections; it’s rather frightening how normalized Le Pen’s party has become in only 15 years. In 2002, when Marine Le Pen’s openly anti-semitic father Jean-Marie Le Pen received 17% of the first round vote, over one million French citizens took to the streets in protest. And now, when his daughter received an even larger percentage of votes, protests have been far less vocal and widespread.
So that’s depressing, but you know what makes us feel better? Jokes. Twitter provided plenty of those, one of them coming from Hillary Clinton throwing some shade at the news media:
Victory for Macron, for France, the EU, & the world.
Defeat to those interfering w/democracy. (But the media says I can't talk about that)
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 7, 2017
And we’re off…
https://twitter.com/DabAggin/status/861293209632350210
https://twitter.com/bromanconsul/status/861284271255805952
https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/861279335247880192
The French election was not truly democratic. For one thing, they seem to have a system where the person with the most votes wins.
— Frank Conniff (@FrankConniff) May 7, 2017
As is the custom in France, Macron has imprisoned his defeated rival's soul in another dimension. pic.twitter.com/cVLdvQuNMp
— ishmael n. daro (@iD4RO) May 7, 2017
Congratulations to France, who after watching two countries slam their dicks in a door, narrowly avoided slamming their dick in a door.
— Ray (@SirEviscerate) May 8, 2017
Congratulations to France! You appear not to have been affected by the effects of the present anomaly in the time-space continuum.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/clmazin/status/861280446201516032
Hearing about the French election like pic.twitter.com/61I8cyc3eT
— Kireinayorudakara (@kireinayoruda) May 5, 2017
Looks like this time around, the French saved US from Nazis.
— Mike Monteiro, cisgender male (@monteiro) May 7, 2017
At least now the French have a good reason to be condescending to Americans.
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) May 7, 2017
america in 2003: we are renaming french fries to freedom fries
[14 years later]
france: [reads but doesnt reply]
— jonny sun (@jonnysun) May 8, 2017
https://twitter.com/historyinflicks/status/861315507412234240
https://twitter.com/xarexerax/status/861289854801387520
Weird how open racism is more of a prerequisite for being called a "populist" than actually being the more popular candidate is.
— Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) May 8, 2017
This is Macron's platform. In France, this is considered "centrist." #FrenchElection pic.twitter.com/kIgix4oWED
— shauna (@goldengateblond) May 7, 2017
In France the loser of an election is forced to be portrayed by Russell Crowe in the musical adaptation.
— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) May 7, 2017
We now must endure five years of Macron puns. Calling dibs on macroneconomics.
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) May 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/GWillowWilson/status/861347241293774848
lotta le pen voters believe in wild conspiracies like illuminati n shit
so…frame him in the pyramid?
absolutely frame him in the pyramid pic.twitter.com/ZJdv1poLeb
— warrior cop (@wyatt_privilege) May 7, 2017
The French media acted with integrity and resolve at a crucial moment for the world. Meanwhile, in American media…#FrenchElection pic.twitter.com/RHN4T3XAM5
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 7, 2017
France's Hottest Presidents Under 40 Who Aren't Nazis
— Aparna Nancherla 🇵🇸 (@aparnapkin) May 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/jonlovett/status/861293141709565953
2017: The year we congratulate countries for not electing Nazis
— Chase Mitchell (@ChaseMit) May 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/katie_k_rogers/status/861283833970401281
(Via The Intercept, Quartz (1, 2), and Ari Berman)