Wanted: Barack Obama as President of France

The French people know a good thing when they see it. There is a largely tongue-in-cheek – if wishful- movement afoot in France to elect Barack Obama president of France.

Organizers of Obama17 told CNN,

“It’s totally crazy, but the cool thing is that once you get past that, you start thinking that maybe it’s possible. Who cares that he’s not French? He’s Barack Obama.”

There is even a website, and 500 posters have gone up all over Paris:

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There is even an online petition (tr. by Google) asking Obama to run:

YES WE CAN !
 
The French are ready to make radical choices. That is good because we have a radical idea to propose to them.
 
After a phantom quinquennium and faced with the announced failure of the next presidential election, we think it is time to move on to the 6th Republic to get France out of its lethargy.
 
To launch this 6th Republic, we wish to strike a blow by electing a foreign President at the head of our beautiful country.
 
Barack Obama has completed his second term as President of the United States on January 21, why not hire him as President for France?
 
Our goal is simple, to collect before the 15th of March, 1 million voting promises to convince Barack Obama to run for the presidential election of May 2017.
 
– Barack Obama has the best resume in the world for the job.
 
– Because it is still possible to vote for a President and not against a candidate.
 
– Because 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.

Many Americans would have liked to have had President Obama run for a third term in the United States. It is hardly a surprise that some in France would want him as their president as well. Obama’s accomplishments were always recognized in Europe.

Pew Global shows Obama’s popularity in France as of 2016 a strong 84, above even that of the UK and just behind Germany’s 86. And whereas 77 percent of Europeans had the confidence Obama would do the right thing in foreign affairs, fully 85 percent lacked confidence Trump would.

It is a fun scenario to envision, a little harmless wishful thinking and a great compliment to one of the most successful – and popular – presidents in United States history. And it would be a nice return on France’s investment in helping America gain its independence.

Vive la belle France.

Hrafnkell Haraldsson

Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.