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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Benjamin Chadwick — a dual citizen of France and the UK — voted in two national elections this year.</li><li>He writes that in both nations, there's been a shift away from moderate politics toward extremes.</li></ul>I was born and raised in England, but this June marked 10 years since I moved to Paris.I came to France on a student exchange in 2012 and met my now partner. We moved to Paris together in 2014. When the British people voted to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/eu-referendum-reasons-and-analysis-on-a-brexit-vote-2016-6">leave the European Union</a> in 2016, I decided I wanted to live in France long-term.I planned to apply for French citizenship as soon as I could. I didn't know exactly how the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brexit-and-boris-johnson-explained-2019-9">Brexit vote</a> would impact me at the time, but I wanted to secure my right to vote in French elections or perhaps move elsewhere in the EU later in life.It took me another three years to meet the residency requirements for citizenship. In the meantime, I began paying closer attention to politics in France. As I wasn't yet a citizen, I couldn't vote in 2017's presidential election, leaving me feeling powerless. But I was relieved about the result.For much of its history, French politics has been dominated by two parties, representing the left and right. But in 2017, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39130072">neither historic party made it to the second round</a>. Emmanuel Macron <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/03/emmanuel-macron-french-presidential-candidate-grassroots-movement">ran with a centrist campaign</a>, while Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, campaigned on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/french-presidential-election-how-the-candidates-compare">anti-immigration and nationalist ideals</a>. Her brand of populism had succeeded in the previous year with Trump's election — but failed in France, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/emmanuel-macron-wins-french-presidential-election-in-landslide-marine-le-pen-2017-5">Macron defeated her</a>, becoming France's President.By the time the 2024 elections came around in France and the UK, I was a citizen of both countries and eager to exercise my vote. In the UK, I wanted to remove the unpopular governing party, the Conservatives, from office. In France, I wanted to keep Le Pen's party out.In recent years, I've watched moderate ideals lose out to reactionary politics again and again, from Trump to Brexit to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/mapped-europe-far-right-government-power-politics-eu-italy-finalnd-hungary-parties-elections-polling/">success of hard-right parties in Europe</a> and elsewhere. Britain looked to be moving in the opposite direction with a projected victory for the center-left Labour Party, which made me feel optimistic, but France looked to be heading into reactionary territory.Political disagreements are a normal part of any healthy democracy. But increasingly, these disagreements are about our fundamental values and even the nature of truth itself. With a big election still to come this year in the US, I'm concerned about this move toward the extremes.<h2 id="86ebff10-5fe7-40c0-8b40-c666fa355f56">Politics in France and the UK has been turbulent in recent years</h2>My first national French elections as a voter were in 2022 when the National Rally continued its seemingly unstoppable rise — Le Pen came <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/french-presidential-election-results-2022-macron-wins-rcna25555">closer than ever</a> to the French presidency.Le Pen became leader of France's right-wing populist "National Front" party in 2011 and renamed it "National Rally" in 2018. Despite the rebrand, the party continues to focus on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.france24.com/en/france/20240620-how-france-s-far-right-changed-the-debate-on-immigration">drastically reducing migration</a>. France has seen major social unrest in recent years, including protests against <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/08/nuit-debout-protesters-occupy-french-cities-in-a-revolutionary-call-for-change">labor</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50971439">pension</a> reforms, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.france24.com/en/20191116-a-year-of-insurgency-how-yellow-vests-left-indelible-mark-on-french-politics">rising fuel costs, and the cost of living</a>. Le Pen has capitalized on a mistrust of mainstream politics, gaining popularity in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/21/counryside-marine-le-pen-forgotten-france-presidential-election-2017">rural</a> areas where some of these <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/21/how-hi-vis-yellow-vest-became-symbol-of-protest-beyond-france-gilets-jaunes">protest movements</a> have been popular.Across the Channel, the political landscape was no less chaotic. The Brexit vote was a seismic shock, and a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-brexit-deal-startups-limbo-financial-services-data-2020-12">deal with the EU</a> was only reached years later after Boris Johnson, whom Donald Trump rather unflatteringly labeled "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/23/trump-boris-johnson-britain-trump-uk-prime-minister">Britain Trump</a>," came to power in 2019.Johnson's center-right Conservative party had been in power since 2010 and remained so until the July 2024 election. Revelations of<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/partygate-sue-gray-report-details-2022-5"> lockdown-era parties</a> in Johnson's offices forced his resignation in 2022, and life for many Britons kept getting worse under his successors, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.As in many other countries, wages were failing to keep up with a sharp rise in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-living-crisis-uk-people-turn-to-tiktok-2022-11">cost of living</a>. Years of budget cuts meant public services were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/30/uk-public-services-policy-institute-for-government-report">crumbling</a>. Yet despite bold promises, I feel the government <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/65647308">failed to address</a> this and seemed more eager to stoke hatred <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/08/stop-the-boats-sunaks-anti-asylum-slogan-echoes-australia-harsh-policy">against migrants</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68229785">other minorities</a>.One of Rishi Sunak's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64164339">often repeated pledges</a>, both while in office and campaigning for the 2024 election, was his mission to "stop the boats," referencing the illegal immigrants arriving in Britain via small-craft vessels.Back in France, Macron still held the presidency. He initially ran on a centrist platform in 2017, aiming to find <a target="_blank" href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/emmanuel-macrons-la-republique-en-marche-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-french-presidents-groundbreaking-new-party-ahead-of-the-elections-a3563256.html">common ground</a> between the left and right blocs. However, during his seven years in office, he's been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2024/01/12/new-french-cabinet-reflects-macron-s-electorate-shift-to-the-right_6426251_5.html">accused of</a> veering to the right, appointing ministers who deny police <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/14/french-ministers-denial-police-abuses-against-migrants-flies-face-facts">brutality</a> toward migrants, and positioning himself <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/france-war-on-woke-laboratoire-de-la-republique/">against "wokism."</a>On June 9, a historic <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/european-union-parliament-election-far-right-nationalist-parties-2024-6">European Parliament election</a> took place, with Le Pen's far-right National Rally netting a record 31.4% of French votes, more than twice as many as Macron's centrist alliance. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/le-pens-party-trounces-macrons-eu-vote-exit-polls-2024-06-09/">Claiming the country needed "clarification,"</a> Macron called for a national parliamentary election on June 30 and July 7. Even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2024/06/17/how-macron-threw-his-supporters-into-a-panic-by-calling-snap-elections_6675018_5.html">his own allies</a> didn't understand.In the lead-up to the UK election on July 4, opinion polls <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-election-final-mega-polls-predict-total-tory-annihilation-labour-win/">predicted</a> a huge majority for the center-left Labour Party. In France, I feared the National Rally would capitalize on their European victory and take control of the Assembly. As an immigrant, I didn't want to be ruled by a party that routinely demonizes migrants.<h2 id="59a6f7d6-73eb-4e8f-b47a-503a385d4dc3">The elections have made me concerned about extremism and division in both countries</h2>In the end, Labour did secure a historic majority in the UK, but only with a tiny increase in vote share. Meanwhile, Reform UK, a party led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage that campaigned on "freezing" immigration, reneging on net zero climate goals, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-manifesto-you-dont-have-to/">banning "transgender ideology"</a> in schools, netted more than 14% of the vote. This made them the third-largest party in terms of vote share. I was concerned that so many people were willing to vote for such a reactionary party.On top of this, one of Labour's first challenges in power was to deal with widespread <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arrests-violence-riots-uk-far-right-wing-protests-immigration-2024-8">anti-immigration riots</a> targeting people of color. The protests that spread across the UK this summer were brought about by online disinformation about a stabbing where three young girls were killed.In France, the National Rally failed to get the majority many feared. A "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2024/07/07/french-elections-far-right-s-rise-blocked-by-republican-front_6676995_5.html">republican front</a>", consisting of other parties joining together to counter the far-right threat, worked better than expected, making the National Rally the third-largest group in terms of seats. But they still wound up with a much bigger voice in parliament than before and were by far the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/france-left-wing-marine-le-pen-far-right-national-rally-jordan-bardella-seats-new-popular-front/">largest party in terms of vote share</a>.I feel that France and the UK are dealing with many of the same problems: political polarization, the scapegoating of migrants, and an increasing focus on culture wars.<h2 id="c3bc22d1-7f74-40d0-a217-dc97700fc623">I'm worried history will repeat itself when the US elections come around</h2>This summer's events on both sides of the Channel have shown that as people grow disillusioned with the status quo, the extremes are becoming increasingly attractive.The National Rally continues to progress. I fear this year's vote has merely delayed their arrival in government, rather than preventing it. In the UK, this summer's far-right riots show that even when progressives win at the ballot box, the extremes are never far away.European eyes are now looking across the Atlantic.Donald Trump has been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/27/magazine/trump-rallies-rhetoric.html">embracing conspiracy theories and referencing an "invasion" of migrants "conquering" the USA</a> in his 2024 campaign. His victory could have serious consequences for Americans, especially <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/trump-harris-abortion/">women</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/05/10/trump-promises-rollback-on-trans-rights-heres-what-hes-said/?sh=51549ef4dae0">minorities</a>.In Europe, observers like me are worried about what his leadership would mean for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-signal-us-stop-ukraine-election-russia-volodymyr-zelenskyy-vladimir-putin/">foreign policy</a> in today's turbulent world. Trump's victory would galvanize European politicians like Le Pen and Farage and their supporters. Populist politics may not have won their national elections, but the most powerful nation in the world and its leader are behind them, normalizing their rhetoric.But if he loses, I'm still anxious about what will happen next, given the January 6 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/five-things-we-learned-about-the-insurrection-in-2022-2023-1">capitol riots</a> in 2021.Kamala Harris has reenergized the presidential race and given hope to those who oppose Trump. But even if she wins, the deep divisions in American society won't go away — they haven't in the UK or France.

Voting in the UK and French elections taught me a concerning lesson that Americans should heed when heading to the polls

BJP's Suvendu Adhikari beats Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee by 1,736 votes in Nandigram. This is a developing story

BJP's Suvendu Adhikari beats Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee by 1,736 votes in Nandigram

As the final five phases of polls draw closer, rift among <keyword id="20101713" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="INDIA-bloc-partners" source="keywords">INDIA bloc partners</keyword>, <keyword id="21533469" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress-Left-combine" source="keywords">Congress-Left combine</keyword> and the <keyword id="19942089" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="TMC" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="TMC" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="TMC">TMC</keyword>, which are fighting separately has intensified, triggering a fierce contest across half of the remaining 36 constituencies in West Bengal driven by local issues such as <keyword id="20074422" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sandeshkhali" source="keywords">Sandeshkhali</keyword> and the SSC scam. TMC's decision to contest independently in the state, rather than as part of the bloc, has led to a three-way contest, with the other contenders being the BJP and the Congress-Left alliance. Nevertheless, both TMC and Congress have asserted that they are part of the INDIA bloc at the national level and are authentic representatives of the opposition front in Bengal. Political analysts suggest that without a dominant national narrative like national security after the 2019 Pulwama attacks, local concerns such as corruption allegations, the cancellation of School Service Commission (SSC) jobs, incidents in Sandeshkhali and implementation of the <keyword id="19965573" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Citizenship-Amendment-Act" source="keywords">Citizenship Amendment Act</keyword> (CAA) are altering election dynamics. Maidul Islam, a political scientist at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, remarked, "Till a few months ago, it seemed the elections in Bengal will be a bipolar contest between the TMC and BJP. But with issues like corruption and Sandeshkhali gaining prominence, the Left-Congress alliance is fast gaining traction in several seats and turning the polls into a three-cornered contest in at least 18-20 LS segments." He said besides the two and three seats in Malda and Murshidabad districts, where TMC and Congress secured two each and the BJP one in 2019, there are 13 seats spread across South Bengal, where the TMC and the Left-Congress alliance are engaging in intense competition. "It's not that the Left-Congress will win many seats, but in segments where their vote share is above 10 per cent, there is a likelihood that they might influence the outcome, to the disadvantage of either the TMC or the BJP, if they manage to secure two per cent more votes," Islam added. According to sources in TMC and CPI(M), the electoral battleground extends beyond Malda and Murshidabad, encompassing Lok Sabha segments like Dum Dum, Srerampore, Arambagh, Hooghly, Howrah, Barrackpore, Bardhaman-Purba, Bardhaman-Durgapur, Bankura, Purulia, Tamluk, Kolkata North, and Jadavpur, all poised for a three-cornered fight. Notably, eight of these seats were won by TMC and the remaining by BJP in the 2019 parliamentary polls. "The shift in dynamics presents the Congress-Left alliance as a significant player, and its emergence complicates the electoral narrative, transcending the conventional TMC versus BJP dichotomy," political analyst Subhomoy Moitra said. While the Left Front is contesting 30 seats, the Congress has fielded candidates in 12 out of 42 seats. "We wanted an alliance with the Congress, but they were delaying the seat-sharing arrangements, so we decided to go alone. Now the Left-Congress alliance is helping the BJP by trying to eat into our votes," remarked TMC leader Santanu Sen. According to TMC leaders, the breakup of INDIA alliance in Bengal has both electoral advantages and disadvantages. "After the Left and Congress alliance fell apart in West Bengal in 2019, it had led to a four-cornered contest with BJP bagging the entire chunk of the anti-TMC votes in the state," they said. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP bagged 18 seats and its vote share rose from 17 to 40 per cent. Meanwhile, despite a 3 per cent rise in vote share, the TMC lost 12 seats, dropping from 34 to 22. The Left drew a blank with a vote share decline from 24 per cent to 6 per cent, and the Congress lost two seats, shrinking its vote share from 9.5 per cent to 5 per cent and bagging just two seats. "Local issues such as corruption and SSC scam are helping the Left-Congress in the state as there is anger among a section of people against the TMC and also against the BJP over the perception of a tacit understanding," a TMC leader said. Analysts observe that <keyword id="43868" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mamata-banerjee" source="Orion">Mamata Banerjee</keyword>'s intensified criticism of Left and Congress, accusing them of aiding BJP, and the ensuing sharp responses from CPI(M) and Congress, alleging a secret pact between TMC and BJP, as indicative of the growing significance of Left-Congress alliance. Data from various local elections and by-polls conducted after 2021 assembly elections indicate a shift in anti-TMC votes as there has been a resurgence of Left-Congress combine. Incidentally, the BJP had witnessed a decline in its vote share as compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha and 38 per cent in 2021 assembly polls. In 2023, violence scarred panchayat polls which covered nearly 70 per cent of the state's electorate, the TMC had bagged 51 per cent of votes whereas the BJP had bagged 22 per cent. The Left-Congress-ISF alliance had, however, bagged 23 per cent votes. The ISF this time, however, has decided to contest alone in 17 seats. Congress leader Suvankar Sarkar emphasized, "People are disenchanted with the TMC and the BJP, as they are both sides of the same coin. People are coming out in large numbers to support the Left-Congress candidates." CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty expressed confidence in the Left-Congress alliance's potential to deliver surprising results in the elections, claiming initial success in breaking bipolar politics in Bengal. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar downplayed the significance of the rift in opposition alliance and the three-cornered fight in various seats. "People know that BJP is only fighting TMC's misrule in Bengal. Those who want to vote against TMC, will vote for us only just like in the 2019 and 2021 polls," he said. Political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty suggested that TMC stands to gain the most from the three-cornered contest. In minority pockets, the Left-Congress alliance could dent TMC's vote base, potentially aiding BJP's prospects, he noted.

West Bengal Elections: Rift among INDIA bloc partners triggers three-cornered intense contests

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Voting in the UK and French elections taught me a concerning lesson that Americans should heed when heading to the polls

Benjamin Chadwick

BJP's Suvendu Adhikari beats Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee by 1,736 votes in Nandigram

BI India Bureau

West Bengal Elections: Rift among INDIA bloc partners triggers three-cornered intense contests

PTI

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