“At a time when France is about to vote massively for the extreme right, we can still give a lesson of democracy to the planet by electing a French President, a foreigner,” according to a French ‘OBAMA17’ site, The Hill reported.
— French Words (@frenchwords) February 22, 2017
The site purports to not be affiliated with Obama, the group merely would like to see the man they feel “has the best resume in the world” occupy Élysée Palace.
A petition has been circulating in France to gather one million signatures for Obama’s candidacy. Entertaining the idea that Obama did want to run for office in France, French law requires that presidents be native to France, The Hill added.
The group evidently picked up some nostalgia from America’s ‘hope and change’ President. "We dreamed about this possibility to vote for someone we really admire," in November 2016, the group said, pointing out that Obama "could lead us to project ourselves in a bright future."
Some of the most recent French polls have right-wing hardliner National Front candidate Marine Le Pen winning the first round of France’s presidential election. Independent candidate François Bayrou has dropped from the race, throwing his support behind Emmanuel Macron. The turn of events did not change bookmakers’ odds of a Le Pen victory, ZeroHedge reported. Nevertheless, the move “eased market anxiety” that Le Pen would emerge the victor, the site noted.
Le Pen’s chief of staff and other National Front employees are under formal investigation by European Parliamentary authorities over alleged misuse of campaign funds funneled to the candidate’s top aides.
