Clifford Hill looks at the spiritual significance of the French Presidential election.

The people of France are between a rock and a hard place. Who should they vote for to be the President of their country?

Many have said that they will spoil their ballot papers in protest against the impossible choice they are being offered. Do they vote for a "reckless rebel" or a "bigoted racist" - as they are described in the French press? But what has happened to create this incredible situation?

The mainline parties of both the left and the right (the Socialists and the Republicans) that have governed France for decades have been firmly rejected by the people. Their candidates for the President of France were decisively defeated last week in the First-Round contest. So two outsiders, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, have won through to the final round of voting that takes place next week.

One of them will become the President of France. Macron only formed his political party last year and he has no MPs. Le Pen leads a right-wing party and has only a handful of MPs. Neither could lead an effective Government without negotiating complex political coalitions.

What has caused this political earthquake that is in the process of triggering a social tsunami in Europe?

What is happening in France is of great significance. It is part of the same movement that triggered Brexit in Britain and brought Donald Trump to the White House in the USA – it is a movement that is rising among ordinary people in all the Western nations. It is a grassroots ground swell that is rippling through rural communities and urban populations and is slowly gaining in momentum.

What is happening in France and Britain and the USA has enormous significance for Christians because unless we understand what is happening in our lifetime we cannot be effective in bringing the gospel to an increasingly secular population, or even praying effectively.

Many Christians do not realise that God is still active in his Creation.

We have to understand, not only what is happening among people at a human level, but also what God is doing to work out his purposes in our generation. Many Christians do not realise that God is still active in his Creation and if we do not understand what is happening we could be a hindrance to the Kingdom, or actually find ourselves praying against God’s purposes rather than in line with his will. It is essential to remember that God is shaking the nations in order to expose the work of Satan and prepare the way of the Kingdom (Heb 12:26- 29).

Just take a brief look at what is happening in France.

Emmanuel Macron was the Minister for the Economy in the Socialist Party. At 39 he was the prodigy of President Hollande. Just two days before he formed his new political party he casually informed François Hollande that he was going to Amiens to start a youth movement on 6 April 2016. This was seen by political observers in France as part of Macron’s duplicity, that he deserted his Socialist mentors to pursue his personal ambition for power. He is strongly in favour of the European Union and as an ex-banker it is reported that his social and economic policies favour globalisation and big business corporations which makes him unpopular with ordinary working people.

Marine Le Pen is the leader of the National Front anti-immigration party in France. She has vowed that if she becomes President she will close France’s borders and expel migrants with criminal records and those who are a threat to the national security of France. This, of course, has wide appeal in France due to the number of violent terrorist atrocities that have occurred in recent years. None of the mainline parties have tackled immigration in their policies and neither has Macron. Le Pen says that she will take France out of the Eurozone and will also consider offering a Referendum to the French people on membership of the European Union.

The fact that one of these two rank political outsiders will become President of France is a landmark in European history. It results from the grassroots rejection of the ruling elite who are widely thought to care only for their own interests and ignore the interests and the wishes of the ordinary people. It is a kind of peasant’s revolt, similar to Brexit in Britain and the election of Donald Trump in the USA.

The fact that one of these two rank political outsiders will become President of France is a landmark in European history.

The reason for this revolutionary grassroots movement is not hard to see. The gap between the rich and the poor in the Western industrialised nations has been steadily growing in the last two or three decades through the process of ‘globalisation’ and the immense growth of powerful corporations that have no loyalty to their workers in the Western nations. They care only for making greater profits which they can do through employing cheap labour in developing nations and abandoning their Western roots.

Ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet have noticed the vast salaries paid to company bosses who count their pocket money in millions. The people are seeing what they believe is injustice and corruption in the world economic system and they are saying 'enough is enough' – we will not have these people rule over us any longer!

There is something in our human nature that recognises truth and righteousness as good, and injustice, greed and corruption as being wicked.

French voters demonstrate their patriotism. See Photo Credits.This is something that has happened throughout history – there comes a point where people rise up against what they perceive to be evil; because there is something in our human nature that recognises truth and righteousness as good, and injustice, greed and corruption as being wicked.

What most people do not understand is that this recognition of truth and righteousness is part of the activity of God in human history. We can learn this from the history of Israel. There came a point, in the sixth century BC, when the people were suffering under slavery in Babylon where they recognised the reason why God had removed his cover of protection over Jerusalem and let it be conquered by the Babylonians.

There was a spiritual awakening among the ordinary people that it was their own rejection of God and turning their backs upon his teaching that had resulted in national disaster. The Prophet Isaiah recorded this in the form of a prayer:

For our offences are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offences are ever with us and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. (Isa 59:12-15)

The only hope of true reform for the people of France is the recognition of how far they have turned away from the Godly heritage of the Christian gospel.

The only hope of true reform for the people of France is the recognition of how far they have turned away from the Godly heritage of the Christian gospel that has been available to them for centuries. Electing a new President, who does not know God and Jesus as Lord and Saviour, will only compound the problems facing the nation. Further embracing the ungodly values of the EU or raising a fence of ‘protectionism’ around the borders of France will not protect them from national disaster. Only ‘repentance and turning’ can do that.

We, the people of Britain facing a general election, and the people of America facing the possibilities of war in the Far East, should take especial note of the warning signs presently hanging over the people of France. We will not escape the shaking of the nations if we fail to take the opportunity of Brexit and the Parliamentary election to return wholeheartedly to God in prayer and repentance.