President-elect Donald Trump’s victory last week has injected populist, anti-establishment figures in France with newfound confidence as they prepare for their presidential election next spring. With primary elections for top far-right candidates starting this Saturday, some have used Trump’s win as an example of what France can also achieve.

“Mr. Trump wants to defend American interests? Fine, I want to defend French interests and those of Europe. What Americans allow themselves, why should we refuse that for France?” former President Nicolas Sarkozy said at a rally in Nice on Tuesday.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front party, also expressed hope at a recent rally: “My election at the presidency has been called impossible for months now, it is up to the people to make it possible,” she said.

The West, with Brexit and the Trump movement as concrete examples, is in the midst of of an anti-immigration, anti-establishment swing. Mass migration and globalization are stirring populist forces, and new political movements are arising to ride their coattails. But other candidates think the movement Trump helped stoke will not reach France.

“I don’t want to pit one part of France against another, the elites against the people … It’s a dangerous political game,” Alain Juppe, a center-right candidate and ex-prime minister said at a Paris rally on Monday. Polls have Juppe ahead of Sarkozy in their primary face-off which begins this Saturday. Juppe is the mayor of Bordeaux.

France’s election will have two rounds: one in April and another in May, when the two two candidates to emerge from the first round will go head-to-head. France’s main pollsters predict Le Pen, a 48-year-old former lawyer, will make it to the second round, but lose in a landslide to whoever the center-right candidate will be, even with the boost Trump’s win provided her.

Whether she wins or not, Le Pen’s message certainly shares common themes with other right-wing parties in Europe. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Le Pen shared her vision for the “comeback of France” her leadership would lead to:

“The nations are not triggering the war; it is ultra-liberalism, the disappearance of borders, the great migration of people … according to the ambitions of the multinationals that creates war. There have never been as many conflicts as there are today,” she said.

Le Pen has also called the European Union a “quasi-totalitarian political system,” promising a referendum on France’s membership–a “Frexit”–should she win the presidency. France’s current President Francois Hollande is deeply unpopular, but has not explicitly said he won’t run for another term.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Amid uproar over France’s enforcement of the burkini ban, the top court of France has overturned the ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, the Associated Press reports. The decision, issued by the country’s Council of State, is likely to set a precedent for overturning the ban in all other ordinances in which it currently is enforced.

This action comes a few days after photos were released that showed police forcing a woman lying on a beach in a burkini to remove some of her clothing, deeming her outfit not beach-appropriate. As a result, France has been facing heat for what many believe is simply another way of exerting control over women’s bodies.

While the burkini seems to only be a slight variation on the wetsuit, it has its proponents in uproar over issues such as “hygiene” and “morality.”

The #BurkiniBan – ‘C’est ridicule!’ © Amy Clancy (@AmyClancyUK) pic.twitter.com/yohgEJ6G2J

— Amy Clancy (@AmyClancyUK) August 24, 2016

Men: Stop telling women what to wear https://t.co/eHdQ7kPq4y #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/zG5l6wrbW5

— Ann Telnaes (@AnnTelnaes) August 25, 2016

However, it is likely that this city’s overturned ban will be met with a lot of resistance in the country, where the ban has also received a lot of support in the name of secularism. Former French president (and current presidential candidate) Nicolas Sarkozy, for example, has called the burkini a “provocation” that supports radical Islam. Additionally, right-wing leader Marine Le Pen vowed that the battle would continue, and declared his support for a banning of headscarves in all public places.

The conservative mayor of the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, Lionnel Luca, isn’t happy with the court’s decision, believing that it “can only heighten passions and tensions, with the risk of trouble we wanted to avoid.”

The burkini ban is a continuation of recent French policies to crack down on overt religious expression, policies which have seemed to unevenly target Muslims. In 2004, a French policy banning religious symbols in public schools prevented students from being able to wear items such as headscarves. In 2011, a policy to prevent face coverings in public made it forbidden for women to wear burqas without facing consequences. This most recent ban seems to be a continuation of this fixation on Muslim women’s wardrobe and what it allegedly represents.

While male leaders in France continue to fight over women’s clothing choices, the repercussions of the French court’s decision will undoubtedly continue the discussions on secularism, religious freedom, and Islam within France and other European countries.

Mariam Jaffery

Mariam was an Executive Assistant at Law Street Media and a native of Northern Virginia. She has a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Business Administration from George Washington University. Contact Mariam at mjaffery@lawstreetmedia.com.

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A new, extremely controversial tax was just ruled constitutional in France. The law has been nicknamed a “millionaire tax” and requires that companies pay a 75% tax on salaries exceeding 1 million euros. Others have called it a “supertax.” The tax is not on the individuals who receive the salaries, but on the companies that pay such exorbitant sums. Although the government originally did try to place the tax on individuals, it was heavily protested and ruled unconstitutional to put such a heavy burden on an individual.

This tax is part of President Francois Hollande’s promise to make sure that the rich citizens of France do more to help out the poor. During the most recent 2012 presidential election, Hollande beat incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy on promises to go after the rich, fix the deficit, and ameliorate income inequality.

The tax will only be in place for 2 years, 2013 and 2014, and is said to be more of a symbolic statement than an actual attempt at raising revenue. According to Hollande, the tax will only affect 470 companies in total.

The tax has drawn a lot of protest from entrepreneurs and companies with CEOs or other top ranking officials who make more than 1 million Euros per year. However it has also drawn protest from football teams. Top footballers can make up to 12 million euros per year, so there are many that make 1 million or more. As a result, many football teams are protesting the millionaire tax. Some have even threatened to strike if the tax went through.

The tax itself is not just a flat 75% rate, but rather closer to 50%. There are other taxes and social contributions included, however, so all said and done it will total about 75%. That being said, it was also written into the law that the tax paid by a given company cannot exceed 5% of that company’s turnover. Given that the tax is intended to be symbolic of a need for the rich to contribute to the nation, the 5% limit makes sense.

The tax’s constitutionality was challenged, so the law was brought before the Constitutional Council. The Constitutional Council is one of the checks and balances present in the French system of government. Its closest America counterpart, for context, would probably be the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Council’s responsibility is to ensure that new laws accord with the provisions of the constitution. It is composed of any former French Presidents who wish to sit on it, as well as a number of appointees from the Executive and Legislative Branches.

The Constitutional Council ruled earlier this week that the law was in fact constitutional, and the government was authorized to move forward on enforcing it.

The ruling on the supertax, or millionaire’s tax, was seemingly the last step in what has been a contentious battle in France. When Hollande’s plans to create the supertax was first introduced in 2012, famed actor Gerard Depardieu actually fled the country.

Hollande has had a rough year, and the French economy is still pretty stagnant. Hollande’s effort to make the rich contribute will probably pay off among the people, but may come back to bite him in the next election when he looks for rich contributors.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Images Money/TaxRebate.org.uk via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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