Crypto News: Brussels Edition: Trying to hold the line

Welcome to the weekend issue of Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Join us on Saturdays for deeper dives from our bureaus across Europe.

PARIS — It was perfectly pleasant on Wednesday, if a bit grey. But a couple hours drive north rain was pelting down, putting everyone in a foul mood.

It's perhaps an apt metaphor for the split between the capital and the rest of France heading into Sunday's parliamentary vote.

Paris has long been left-of-center overall and only a single far-right candidate even made it to the runoff from the 18 seats held by the city, making the first round of voting feel like any other in the seven years since Emmanuel Macron came to power.

In much of the rest of France, including the northern town Arras, voting against the far-right feels more like a slogging rearguard action

If the anyone-but-Le Pen line is to hold, it's places like Arras that will have to reject her and her party. And unlike those in Paris — who continue to turn out in numbers for Macron, who was nearly invisible this week — voters in Arras aren't happy about it, as my colleague Ania Nussbaum found when reporting there.

Marine Le Pen arrives on stage during an election campaign meeting in Arras, France, in 2022. Photographer: Thomas Samson/AFP

Before a downpour, Quentin Rouget, a self-described left-leaning economics teacher, described his move from supporter in 2017 of Macron, the centrist presidential candidate, to reluctant backer in 2022 to debating whether he can stand voting this weekend for the candidate from Macron's party, the junior agriculture minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

"I'm tired of seeing the left being insulted by Macronists, even though we're the ones blocking the National Rally every time," he said.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher Photographer: Nicolas Guyonnet/AFP

Rouget's view is understandable. As recently as yesterday, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was still taking swipes at the far left and its voters, which he needs.

"In the first round we eliminated the risk of an absolute majority dominated by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and France Unbowed," he said on TF1 television. "In the second round we must now eliminate the risk of an absolute majority dominated by the far right and the National Rally."

If leftist voters plug their ears and go vote anyway for Macron's candidates in those districts where they made the second round, it will still, at best, pull France toward political paralysis with a hung parliament. If they stay home, it means the empowerment of a party rooted in xenophobia.

It's never a good sign for the health of country's democracy if "least-bad" is the best outcome voters can see.

— Alan Katz, Paris bureau chief

The Billionaire 'French Murdoch' Normalizing Le Pen's Politics

Vincent Bolloré at a hearing Paris in 2022. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

The rise of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally to front runner in Sunday's French election is closely intertwined with the emergence of a powerful conservative media machine backed by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, dubbed the "French Murdoch."

A Migrant's Tale: How the Path to Residency in France Got Harder

For thousands of people like Amadou Dieng, France represented safety and security. The former school teacher fled Mauritania in 2021 where he said he faced persecution. He is now applying to become a French resident. It's a process that has fresh obstacles after Emmanuel Macron's decision to call a snap election and by the momentum of the far-right National Rally.

Europe's Nuclear Revival Lacks a Key Ingredient: Skilled Workers

Europe's aggressive blueprint to bolster its nuclear fleet for the energy transition is jeopardized by a lack of key components: skilled workers. Atomic power producers in France, the UK and Sweden are having trouble finding the hundreds of thousands of welders, engineers and planners needed for reactors they're building now and planning for mid-century.

Germany's Recession in Urban Housing Markets Is Coming to an End

Until recently, a developer in Cologne was offering discounts on homes aimed at stimulating demand after would-be buyers were left in a "state of shock" when the ECB raised interest rates in 2022 and propelled a surge in mortgage costs. Unfortunately, people who missed the sweetener are now out of luck, as the German housing recession is nearly over.

Tourists Seek Nordic Cool Instead of Europe's Hottest Spots

More people are foregoing endless sun in southern Europe for cooler weather up north. It's a trend that's become so popular there's now a name for it, "coolcationing," promoted by lifestyle magazines and marketers around the world. Vacationers seeking respite from unbearable heat have the potential to bolster Scandinavia's travel and tourism industry.

Sunday: French parliamentary elections second round
Monday-Tuesday: EU industry ministers hold informal meeting in Budapest
Tuesday-Thursday: NATO summit held in Washington, DC
Thursday-Friday: EU environment ministers hold informal meeting in Budapest

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