Sacre Bleu!

Marine Le Pen survived the first round of the French presidential election, finishing second in a field of eleven candidates just behind Emmanuel Macron, who has promised to keep France in the European Union, keep France in NATO, and keep France sane.   Le Poison Pen would ask France to withdraw from both groups and go off on its own, and proceed to regain the greatness of its imperial age.  Ah yes, the one that ended with the Germans at the gates of Paris, Louis Napoleon surrendering Alsace, Lorraine and his throne, a group of Communists controlling the capital, and the country on such an edge of desperation that it could only be saved by . . . an Irishman!

Be that as it may, Macron's narrow lead in the first round of the election has given observers some hope that the French will not make the same sort of mistake that British made when they voted to get out of the European Union or a mistake like the one the Americans made when, despite Hillary Clinton's popular-vote win, they elected Donald Trump President (which could have been avoided had the Democrats nominated someone else - an Irishman!).

Maybe Macron's call for patriotism over nationalism and his confidence and youth (he's 39)  will win out over Le Pen in the end.  I hope so.  Because, after seeing Great Britain and the United States screw up, it would be pretty scary to see the land of fine wines, Truffaut, Pierre Renoir, Jean Renoir, the City of Light, the Riviera, croissants, Berlioz, the Enlightenment, Henri-Pierre Roche, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Adjani, Sophie Marceau, a whole slew of other great actresses with supermodel looks, Balzac, Impressionism, Cezanne, Charles Aznavour, Jacques Cousteau, and all sorts of other groovy contributions to Western civilization go . . . completely off its rocker.

Oh yeah, speaking of rockers, France gave us Johnny Hallyday too. 

Come on, frogs - do the right thing and put Emanuel Macron in the Elysian Palace!