With the scent of blossom in the air, the medieval fair in the hilltop village of Bormes-les-Mimosas was proving a happy hunting ground for recent presidential candidate Eric Zemmour in his effort to win a seat in the French Parliament.
As a crowd gathered at a stall exhibiting battle-axes, pikes and other relics of ancient combat, Mr Zemmour quickly became the focus of attention.
Bormes-les-Mimosas, overlooking the Mediterranean 35 kilometres west of Saint-Tropez, is currently represented by a centrist, but the surrounding area has gone over to the far-right.
People pressed forward to shake the firebrand polemicist’s hand, pose with him for selfies or chat to young supporters sporting his ‘’make your voice heard’’ campaign T-shirts.
Although the seat has been held since 2017 by a Macronist, Sereine Mauborgne, the far-right performs well in the Var — the department as a whole voted 55 per cent for National Rally's Marine Le Pen — and Mr Zemmour seems the candidate to watch. One poll suggests he will reach the deciding round on June 19.
Approached by The National, he would say only when asked if he felt optimistic: ‘’Of course I have a good chance — if people vote for me.‘’
Two months after giving Emmanuel Macron a second presidential term, French voters are now deciding the make-up of Parliament in elections that highlight deep divisions in the country. Before Sunday’s first round of polling, Mr Macron’s overall majority in France’s National Assembly is in jeopardy.
The president's loyalists are menaced not only by rightists like Mr Zemmour but more notably by an alliance of socialists and environmentalists led by the veteran far-left campaigner Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Early results from voting already held outside France lend weight to impressions from opinion polls that the president’s centrist party, now known as Renaissance, and allies are jostling for seats with Mr Melenchon’s coalition Nupes (the People’s New Ecological and Social Union). Among latest polls, one puts Nupes marginally ahead on first-round voting intentions.
A dramatic front-page headline in a major French newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, described “cold sweat” at the Elysee Presidential Palace at the prospect of a hung parliament or, worse, a hostile one. Either would weaken Mr Macron’s presidential mandate.
The cost-of-living crisis is a major factor, with petrol prices soaring despite a pre-election government subsidy to mitigate the effects. And complaints about shortages in the shops — first sunflower oil, now mustard — grow louder.
The rise of the left has not eliminated the far-right sympathies that won Ms Le Pen 13.2 million votes (41.4 per cent) against Mr Macron’s 18.7 million in April’s presidential run-off. In the columns of the JDD, there is speculation that no fewer than six members of Mr Macron’s new government could lose.
The momentum is with Mr Melenchon’s alliance which, with the support of the conventional if ailing socialist party and Greens, seems much better organised at local level than National Rally.
Mr Melenchon, 70, was born in Morocco, where his father worked for the French postal service. He chases the same working-class, anti-austerity section of the electorate as Ms Le Pen. With only 420,000 more votes, he would have beaten her to April’s second round against Mr Macron.
Mr Zemmour suffered a humiliating first-round elimination with 7 per cent nationwide but his strength in the Var — along with the Melenchon phenomenon and gradual advances by Ms Le Pen in presidential contests — offers further proof that French voters no longer feel stigma when backing candidates routinely described as extremists.
The trend has become more pronounced with the collapse of the two parties of left and right with histories of power — the Parti Socialiste, now a minor component of Nupes, and conventional Gaullists, Les Republicains.
‘’It is difficult to dismiss the far right since it achieved a significant score in the second round of the presidential election,’’ said Christele Lagier, a sociologist and senior academic at Avignon University in southern France.
She tells The National the split in far-right voting is compensated by the decline of the centre right and the sharing of its support among Ms Le Pen, Mr Zemmour and a president viewed as having veered to the right since his victory in 2017.
Even if the immediate chances of the far left or far right taking power are overblown, the prospect of a troubled cohabitation, with political enemies dominating Parliament and frustrating his programme, must strike foreboding into Mr Macron’s heart.
Faced with electoral fatigue that makes a low turnout one of few certainties, Mr Macron may need a late revival in public approval to win the 289 seats required for an overall majority.
Mr Macron’s party has also been damaged by claims from two women, strongly denied, of rape by one of his new ministers, Damien Abad.
If he falls short, perhaps he will blame the French tendency to complain about their lot. ‘’Sylvain Tesson [a French writer] coined a nice phrase,’’ the president said in an interview with the regional press. ‘’France is a paradise populated by people who think they’re in hell.’’
QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
Other key dates
-
Finals draw: December 2
-
Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
Everybody%20Loves%20Touda
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nabil%20Ayouch%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nisrin%20Erradi%2C%20Joud%20Chamihy%2C%20Jalila%20Talemsi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
LIGUE 1 FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Nice v Angers (9pm)
Lille v Monaco (10.45pm)
Saturday
Montpellier v Paris Saint-Germain (7pm)
Bordeaux v Guingamp (10pm)
Caen v Amiens (10pm)
Lyon v Dijon (10pm)
Metz v Troyes (10pm)
Sunday
Saint-Etienne v Rennes (5pm)
Strasbourg v Nantes (7pm)
Marseille v Toulouse (11pm)
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
