Macron Hacked by Alleged Russian Hackers Just Hours To The Elections

The French elections have sparked significant media debate about the rise of “protectionism,” anti-immigrant ideology and the potentiality of a Frexit, in summary, the rise of far-right political ideology in the West. These debates have a striking similarity to those had during the Trump-Hillary presidential campaign. It goes without saying that there have been countless comparisons between the French elections and the United States 2016 elections. It is thus not surprising that there is an “email leak and [the] hacking allegation by Russians,” that has arisen just hours to the Election Day.

Barely an hour before the official close of the campaigning at midnight Friday, the staff of Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year old former investment banker, has been a target of a massive and coordinated hacking escapade. His campaign team has raised alarm about the release of documents and emails on the right-wing popular 4chan website, which he claims is in a bid to provide a setback for the benefit of his opponent, Le Pen. Following the skepticism raised regarding the timely release of this information, French law has mandated the blackout of all media for 44 hours to protect the integrity and legitimacy of the elections. Macron, following recent polls, has led the popular support of the French people against Le Pen, a far-right nationalist. However, it is unclear how the French people will react to the minimal information they have regarding their “favoured” leader with regard to these leaks.

Will this potentially affect the legitimacy of Macron? Further, this matter raises a number of questions regarding free speech, privacy and political legitimacy during electioneering periods. Is a media blackout the best solution in the given circumstances? The correlation to the U.S. election definitely provides a number of lessons; the email leaks had a serious blow to Hillary Clinton’s campaign thereby granting Donald Trump an almost inevitable win. The matter is complicated further by the fact that the alleged interference was by Russia which raises issues of interference in elections by foreign countries.

The prompt action of the French authorities imposing the 44-hour blackout is thus justified in some ways, however, what does that say about the information availed to the public about voting for a leader they are now skeptical about due to the limited information they have regarding the leaks? Well, the French people will decide tomorrow and will definitely put all things into perspective about how to hold those involved in the “interference” responsible after investigations have been carried out.

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