The French presidential elections, taking place in two rounds on 23 April and 7 May 2017, are arguably the most important elections in Europe this year. The fact that with Marine Le Pen, a right-wing populist with an anti-globalisation and anti-EU agenda, stands a chance to become the next head of state in France makes it relevant well beyond the borders of France. It puts the fate of the European Union in the hands of the French voters, who have been suffering from low economic growth, unemployment, terrorism and the increasing inability to integrate migrants into the mainstream of society.
Will France become the next country to leave the EU after Brexit and thereby dismantle the European Union that just celebrated its 60th anniversary with the Treaty of Rome?
Speakers
Balveer Arora, Chairman, Centre for Multilevel Federalism at the Institute of Social Sciences , Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Britta Petersen, Senior Fellow, ORF
Jean-Joseph Boillot, Advisor, Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'informations Internationales (CEPI), Paris
Leila Choukroune, Director, Centre for Social Sciences and Humanities (CSH), New Delhi
Vaiju Naravane, Professor, Practice of Journalism and Media Studies, Ashoka University, Sonepat