The champagne was on ice, and the jazz was played softly.
It was the first time the far right would take office in government in France since World War Two, and hundreds of journalists had traveled from all over the world to cover the event. Scent dogs were stationed to defend the party, which we all believed to be close to power.
But as the clock approached the 8 p.m. exit poll, things started to change. Party apparatchiks whispered about signs they had let the side down. There were nervous looks exchanged, and the cups appeared more empty than full.
disappointed, andThen the TVs displayed the narrative, which was that President Macron’s centrists and the left had knocked the National Rally into third place. After a startling silence, party members attempted to lift the mood with a few token applauses.
Rosa Gave held up a French flag and exclaimed, “We are sad, disappointed, and struck down by this result.”
“We are being prevented from taking power by Macron and his dishonest alliance.”
