In the northern French town of Arras they have been commemorating the 100th anniversary of a first world war battle that resulted in almost 280,000 casualties. The streets have been filled with poster-sized photographs of a few of the 35,000 Allied soldiers from Britain, Australia, Canada and South Africa who died in the Battle of Arras, along with the flags of all the countries who took part, giving the town an unusually international feel.
It is the morning after the night before – when the voters of Arras closely matched the national result of the first round of the presidential election, giving Emmanuel Macron 24.6% and Marine Le Pen 21.49% – and residents and tourists who have come to honour the war dead are enjoying an early lunch in the pretty town hall square.
Arras is at the centre of what was France’s northern industrial heartland and is now Front National territory, but large numbers of voters in the town remain stubbornly centrist.
Marie Kostoj, 19, a languages student, voted for Macron in the first round and says she will do so again in the second round runoff. “I woke up this morning disgusted by Marine Le Pen’s success,” Kostoj says. “I’m glad Macron won. For more than 20% of the French population to vote extreme right is extremely worrying. It’s a pity the anti-immigration and anti-Europe themes have taken such a hold.”
Sally Mamgane, 32, from Senegal, has lived in France for 12 years but has no right to vote in presidential elections. “I would have voted Macron if I could,” she says. “His programme was the one that ticked boxes for me, especially about giving foreigners the vote. The high vote for Marine Le Pen sends a shiver down my spine. It’s not just the vote, it’s the atmosphere it creates, which is threatening for us.”
Her friend Pam Maymouna, 36, agrees. “We are afraid, because the support for Marine Le Pen is frightening,” she says.
Marine, 58, standing outside the clothing store where she works, does not want to give her full name. She hesitates before finally admitting she voted for Le Pen. “What we hope for after this election is change. We don’t want the same again. We have had left, right, right, left for years and we are disappointed,” she says.
Like many Front National voters, Marine says she also found Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the hard-left candidate, “not bad”. And like many, she is not sure if she will vote Le Pen again in the final round. “We are in an area where unemployment is high, there are no jobs, and when I retire in two years I will get a pension of just €630, having worked for 42 years. You think that’s normal when immigrants come and get more than €800 a month? The majority of the customers who come into my shop support Le Pen, but I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
Pauline, 19, a trainee shop assistant, says she will be voting Le Pen. “I believe she is the only one who will change things,” she says.
Marwen Agie, 28, a Tunisian-born plasterer, says he supports whichever candidate “will change France” – except Le Pen. “We need jobs, work, we need change, we need someone to do something and not just talk. When I hear Marine Le Pen speaking about foreigners, it makes me feel ill. We need someone who will do good, not her.”
Abdullah, a shopkeeper, says the result does not worry him. “The Front National is strong all around here already. People voted for Le Pen because there are lots of immigrants, lots of foreigners, but they are no problem. I’m from Morocco and have been here 10 years, the FN doesn’t worry me. But I’ll be hoping Macron wins. If not, I can always go back to Morocco.”
Marie André, 45, a social worker, says she was bitterly disappointed by the result. She voted for the Socialist candidate, Benoît Hamon. “The opinion polls all said he would not win, so it was not a surprise, but we were hoping that despite all the predictions she [Le Pen] wouldn’t. I don’t know how I will vote in the next round. Maybe I will vote blank. Macron is too social democrat for me. This election is catastrophic for the traditional parties. Now we just have to hope the Socialists do better in the legislative elections.”
Strolling through the city centre, a 60-year-old retired man, who did not want to be named, says he leaned towards the conservative right and was a fan of Nicolas Sarkozy, but did not vote for any candidate this time. “I didn’t want any of them. I voted blank and I will vote blank the next time. All the candidates were idiots talking rubbish.”
In Hénin-Beaumont, where Le Pen voted on Sunday, the Front National vice-president Steeve Briois was enjoying lunch in the Café de la Paix, as a steady stream of locals came to shake his hand.
“I am extremely optimistic,” he said. “Marine has the workers, the unemployed, the old; Macron has only the elite. We now have the support in France to win. We are not afraid of the other parties forming a barrage to try to stop us. We have nothing to lose. They have everything to lose.”
