France’s first-round election results present a possibility of a Le Pen victory, which could lead to an exit from the European union, offering a unique opportunity for Dash adoption.
The preliminary winners of France’s presidential election were Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, winning 23.82% and 21.58% of the vote, respectively. Macron represents the center-left and is the more pro-European Union candidate, while Le Pen is positioned far to the right, and has indicated she would put France up for a referendum to exit the EU if elected. Both candidates will now compete against each other for a final victory.
Election favors Macron, but is still undecided
Currently, Macron is better positioned to win the final contest. However, the election is still too close to call, meaning a Le Pen victory is still possible, leaving open a future where a “Frexit,” a departure from the EU similar to the United Kingdom’s “Brexit,” remains on the table.
The first-round election result caused stocks to rally, indicating that the market had feared a sound Le Pen victory would lead to an EU departure, and that Macron’s strong showing indicated that a pro-EU France was the likely outcome of the second-round result. However, in the entirely possible event of a Le Pen final win, market turmoil would likely result, sparking fears of a departure from the EU.
Opportunity presented for Dash
The possibility of a France threatening an EU exit puts Dash in a unique position for adoption in Europe. During the days leading up to the Brexit vote, Bitcoin’s price tracked the vote as a hedge against economic uncertainty, and immediately following the vote served as a more stable store of value than the British pound. A France exit would likely have a similar result.
France is in a different position than the UK, having abandoned its national currency long ago in favor of the euro. A departure from the EU would leave France in need of a common currency. Dash is uniquely positioned in the cryptocurrency field for mass adoption, with the much-anticipated Evolution update on the horizon, which would provide cryptocurrency’s first protocol-level smooth, PayPal-like experience. This would be particularly attractive in a France that had just shed its currency, offering a chance for Dash to gain common acceptance.
I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Maybe revisit this article after the first of the year (2018) when Evolution is released.
Evolution
https://www.dash.org/evolution/
It’s true that Dash would benefit from a Frexit, but the election of Le Pen is unlikely. Media and stocks are also much less likely to be wrong about that one (as opposed to the outcome of the US elections) as in France we have a first round with many parties.
During that first round, 11 persons were presenting themselves to be president and each got a certain number of votes. Now that only 2 are left, it’s times for the 9 other to tell their voters who to choose.
Based on that assumption, Macron has obviously the support from his voters, that is 23.7 %, the Republicans also call to vote against Marine Le Pen (20 % voters during first round), the Socialists called to vote Macron (6.7 % of voters) which means a sound 50,2 %.
Plus, we have a very strong tradition of voting against extreme right wing (and fear of it) : in 2002, when the Father of Marine Le Pen accessed to the second round, the results were 82 % against him. That also was the result of 8 % of the people who had abstained voting in the first round decided to vote in the second round in order to make sure that Jean-Marie Le Pen wouldn’t be president.
The 4th party – 19 % of votes at first round hasn’t decided yet what to do so we’ll get more information as week goes by but let’s hear it, it’s very very unlikely that Le Pen will become the next president of France.
And for whoever sill pay attention to them, polls are saying 61 % against the Marine Le Pen.
Thanks for your comment and input. Nothing is certain and expert predictions and recent polls do not have a great track record. We will just have to wait and see.
I would tend to agree, and as noted with: “Currently, Macron is better positioned to win the final contest.” I also remember being sure Hillary was going to get through in the US. Didn’t work out quite as expected. We should keep all realistic possibilities in mind so we can seize on whatever opportunity presents itself.
Very interesting speculation here… Seems the populist movement is spreading worldwide. And beyond that, decentralization in the form of nations was sparked since the breaking apart of the Soviet Union.
My personal dream is secession en masse in the USA, but I realize this may not happen for 10 or 20 years – if we’re lucky. Yet in 2017, talk of California secession became part of general discussion. Albeit for the wrong reasons in my opinion, I still think it a healthy idea.
I’m reminded of an interesting quote from my much-maligned Auntie Ayn, “The smallest minority on earth is the individual” and of my globe-trotting free marketeer Uncle Doug Casey, when he rhapsodizes of a world of 7 billion little sovereign nations… I see Dash as a parallel expression of this, in orderly, decentralized currency. In fact, if Grandpa Hayek were here to witness the wonders of the block chain, how bright would his bespeckled eyes beam at this bold example of near spontaneous order!
France may or may not vote Le Pen this election, but the seeds of discontent with the collectivism of the European Union have been sown and are growing. If France does not leave the EU this year, it may very well the next. And after France, Italy and Spain cannot be far behind. At that point the EU will collapse.
What kind of Currency will take its place, we cannot say. But if we believe in human evolution and the ability of mankind to rise up after each fall, we must believe that people will seek a better way. An improvement on what has failed in the past. I believe that people will finally see the inherent flaws of a centralized system and that we must move beyond these outmoded methods of commerce. Perhaps the road to sovereignty for the individual is not paved in gold but in the block chain of Dash.
The only uncertainty is timeline. How long will it take? We don’t know. But eventually, inferior systems have to give way to superior systems.