Refreshing the Tree of Liberty

Refreshing the Tree of Liberty

Photo by Sebastian Pichler on Unsplash

Bam!

You could call it the slap heard round the world.

French political party National Rally and its supporters won roughly one third of the French vote in a national election, concerning everyone on Earth because of its right-wing policies that view immigrants as unwelcome and unneeded threats to France. Their platform includes ending citizenship at 18 for children born of non-French parents. Anyone without more than just a French passport will be prevented from having a ‘sensitive’ job, like working at a nuclear plant.

How about less of a sacrifice? Like giving up your political career for the sake of the greater good of your country?

The big source of international angst, however, is based on its historical rhetoric as much as its current watered-down slogans. From the New York Times:

But the National Rally is the heir to a political tradition in France associated with overt racism, antisemitism and Holocaust deni…