Why this week’s French elections matter to the rest of the world

With war singing the European Union’s eastern edge, French voters will be casting ballots in a presidential election whose outcome will have international implications. France is the 27-member bloc’s second biggest economy, the only one with a UN Security Council veto, and its sole nuclear power. And as Russian President Vladimir Putin carries on with the war in Ukraine, French power will help shape Europe’s response.

Twelve candidates are vying for the presidency – including incumbent and favourite President Emmanuel Macron who is seeking a new term amid a challenge from the far-right. The French election takes place in two rounds and starts on Sunday.

Macron’s pro-Nato credentials

Macron is the only front-runner who supports the alliance while other candidates hold differing views on France’s role within it, including abandoning it entirely. Such a development would deal a huge blow to an alliance built to protect its members in the then emerging Cold War 73 years ago.

“Macron really wants to create a European pillar of Nato,” says Susi Dennison, Senior Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “He has used it for his shuttle diplomacy over Ukraine conflict.”

On the far-left, candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon wants to quit Nato outright. As president, he might be a concern especially for Poland, which has a 1,160-kilometre border with territory now controlled by Russia.

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Nato sends French fighters on ‘sky-policing mission’ as Ukrainian president seeks no-fly zone

Nato sends French fighters on ‘sky-policing mission’ as Ukrainian president seeks no-fly zone

European security and defence investment

Observers say a Macron re-election would spell real likelihood for increased cooperation and investment in European security and defence – especially with a new pro-EU German government.