Mort Rosenblum: In France, MAGA is seen for what it is

and analysis of the writer:

PARIS — At the “1905,” a funky retro bistro in the Marais, Camille, the manager and queen bee, asked where I was from. Arizona, I replied. Her pleasant smile reshaped into the look one gets upon eating a bad clam.

“Tucson,” I said, adding, “a long way from Glendale.” The smile returned, with a touch of sympathy if not pity. Most Europeans know a lot more about the United States than Americans know about Europe.

The five-hour paean to Charlie Kirk was all over the papers. Scathing comments analyzed how a country so many people once admired has so quickly sunk to pariah status. Others detailed the impact on their own daily lives and global security.

TV news channels showed excerpts of Stephen Miller’s six-minute messianic screed. God is with Republicans, he declared, and they will exact terrible vengeance on Democrats and other left-leaning enemies of the people who thwart their noble goals.

Le Monde, the influential Paris daily, got to the point in a front-page subhead: “Donald Trump uses this wave of emotion to accelerate his battle with the media.”

The French, long inured to political bombast, were slow to take Trump seriously. In 2016, many dismissed him as a self-obsessed buffoon. They stopped laughing when he tried to extort Volodymyr Zelensky for dirt on Joe Biden and then cripple NATO.

His COVID denial worsened a global pandemic, triggering anger. Then France watched the Jan. 6 coup attempt with stunned disbelief. Trump sat back as insurgents savaged Capitol police and tried to lynch the vice president for certifying his lost election.

Yet even up until the Kirk reaction, despite Trump’s bullying tariffs and threats to allies, many Frenchmen I questioned about him had a similar response: yes, he’s bad, but we have Emmanuel Macron. Their own president’s popularity ratings are near 17%.

Now the difference is clear. In France, as in other American allies, most people see MAGA for what it is. On the record or privately, many describe it as shockingly corrupt, repressive, driven by greed and antithetical to Christian teachings.

In Glendale, they saw Republicans demand vengeance on their political opposition, across the board, ignoring the essence of democracy.

A lone 22-year-old pulled the trigger for still-unclear reasons. But Miller declared blanket blame: “You thought you could kill Charlie Kirk? You have made him immortal ... and now millions will carry on his legacy.”

At the U.N. General Assembly, they heard Trump call European leaders stupid for being nice to migrants and favoring fake green energy. As a result, he said in a rambling speech nearly an hour longer than his allotted time, their countries are going to hell.

The French are quick to swarm the streets to protest unpopular government decisions. But, aside from apolitical “casseurs” who break things and loot, they adhere to the rule of law when they demand accountability.

Violence erupted across the country in 2023 when Macron raised the retirement age from 62 to 64. Many agreed that was needed to control public spending. The furor was because he did it by executive order without debate in the National Assembly.

France has no First Amendment. But the United States does, and this administration is trampling all over it. Free expression is ingrained in French society. Libel and slander are punished by token amounts compared to American standards.

The French are scrupulous about keeping money out of politics, ensuring clean elections and probing suspected corruption. Presidents cannot be prosecuted except in egregious cases. But only until they move out of the Elysees Palace.

After Nicolas Sarkozy left office in 2012, he was convicted of corruption, influence peddling and illegal campaign funding. Lawyers kept him out of jail, but he had to wear an ankle bracelet for a time and was stripped of his Legion of Honor distinction.

And just last week, at 70, Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison. He is likely to serve hard time even if his case is under appeal.

His crime dates back to 2007, an attempt to collect millions of euros for his campaign from Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in exchange for economic advantages and diplomatic recognition. No deal was made. Under French law, just soliciting is enough.

The charge was “association de malfaiteurs.” Criminal association. He insists he is innocent and calls the charge a scandal. But he hurled no epithets at judges or rivals. “If I have to sleep in prison, I’ll sleep in prison,” he said, “but with head held high.”

Years earlier, ex-President Jacques Chirac was prosecuted for corruption during his term as mayor of Paris. When finally convicted, old and infirm, he was released on humanitarian grounds.

France is hardly squeaky-clean. Questionable deals in political and business circles often escape notice. But a lively, vigilant press keeps watch. And when potential crime comes to light, people react.

Voters are indulgent about candidates’ personal lives. When Macron’s predecessor, Francois Hollande, was caught on camera at night sneaking off on a booty call, people just laughed. He looked silly in a too-small helmet, puttering off on a motor scooter.

But a pending case could change the nature of France. Jean-Marie Le Pen of the anti-immigrant, far-right National Front stunned voters in 2002 by coming second after Chirac in the first of a two-round election.

The popular slogan was “hold your nose and vote Chirac.” He won with just over 82% of the vote. Le Pen’s daughter, Marine, took over the party, renamed it National Rally. Its image is more housebroken, but its politics are similar.

She had reasonable odds as a presidential candidate in 2027 until she was recently banned from office for five years. A court held her liable for her party’s misuse of European Parliament funds.

Still, she stands a slight chance of winning an appeal before the election. In the unlikely event of victory, it is hard to imagine anything close to a MAGA in France. Even so, I may have to visit Camille at the 1905 and offer my condolences.