Getty Images

Shortly after the results of the French election came in on Sunday, I ran into director Luc Besson at the farmer’s market in Los Angeles.

I wished him congratulations on the landslide victory of Emmanuel Macron.

“Phew,” he said, echoing what so many of us said over social media. One thing was clear, he said: Donald Trump’s presidency had had an impact on French voters.

“We saw what happened here, and we thought this should not happen to us,” he said. “I think it mobilized people.”

Also Read: Hollywood Celebrates Emmanuel Macron's Win of French Presidency: 'Merci France'

I’ve known Besson for more than 20 years, from back when I was a freelance writer in Paris and he was an exciting new voice in cinema with “La Femme Nikita” and “The Big Blue.” I’ve never known him to be openly political — his films “The Fifth Element” and upcoming “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” are sci-fi fantasy, not public policy — but the stakes were so high in France that virtually no one I know there feels they could afford to be uninvolved.

In their resounding rejection of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, the French voters may have saved the European project, or at least put the brakes on what seemed like a runaway impulse to undo decades of unification, social progress, economic openness and, most of all, peace.

The results could not be more stark. The stunning, 30-point loss for Le Pen and her nationalist-populist message can also be squarely counted as a rejection of Donald Trump and his own nationalist-populist presidency.

Also Read: Trump Congratulates Macron on 'Big Win' for French Presidency

The two were not friends, and Trump did not openly endorse Le Pen, whose National Front party has its roots in racist and anti-Semitic demagoguery, founded by Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie.

But the thrust of the two campaigns revealed kindred spirits, targeting outsiders as the root of each nation’s problems. Disparaging “bad hombres” who seek to take advantage of the citizens’ wealth and generosity. Calling for putting ourselves first, and stop worrying about the weak. Rejecting immigrants and a focus on crises abroad.

But those promises have turned out to be hollow in this country, as Trump instead has focused on further enriching himself and the billionaire and millionaire class while doing precious little for the little guy who voted him in.

Also Read: Donald Trump Fires First Female White House Chief Usher

The chaos and instability that has accompanied the Trump presidency undoubtedly spooked many in the French right-wing establishment, who set aside their misgivings around the newcomer Macron and threw their weight behind him.

In accepting the presidential victory, Macron spoke with moving eloquence about his responsibility to care for all French people:

“I know the anger and anxiety and doubt a great number of you have also expressed,” he said on Sunday night. “It is my responsibility to hear you, and to protect the most fragile, to show solidarity, to fight all kinds of discrimination and to guarantee the unity of the nation.”

What a beautiful example of what a presidency can be, of what higher purpose a political platform can serve. In his words, Macron reminded me of no one more than Barack Obama in 2008, upon his unlikely win of the U.S. presidency.

Also Read: Meet the American Who Helped Leak Hacked Emails of French Candidate Emmanuel Macron

Which brings to my other point. The French voters rejected the narrow nationalism of the National Front, but they also rejected establishment politics. The vote came down to a choice between two political outsiders, since not a single major party candidate made it to the second round. And voters had already expressed their dislike for the sitting president Francois Hollande, who decided not to run at all.

So, like the United States, France is seeking something new and different from their political leaders.

Thankfully, they chose a path that is a more sane and mature than the frightening developments here that suggest: Apres moi, le deluge.

10 Dictators Donald Trump Has Said Nice Things About (Photos)

Donald Trump has a habit of using kind words to describe authoritarian world leaders — despite issues like human rights abuses, anti-democratic policies, and violence against their own people. Here are ten that Trump has been positive on, either in his words or through his actions.
Getty Images
Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines
Trump had a phone call with Filippino President Duterte, and apparently in an unscripted moment, invited him to the White House. Duterte is an admitted mass murderer, known for his extrajudicial killings of hundreds of drug users in his battle against the drug trade.
Getty Images
Saddam Hussein, Iraq
Trump said during his campaign that the Iraq War was a failure, and the world would be better off with Hussein in power. “He was a bad guy -- really bad guy,” Trump said during a December 2016 rally. “But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists. Over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism.” Trump also said of Hussein using chemical weapons to massacre as many as 5,000 Iraqi Kurds, “"Saddam Hussein throws a little gas, everyone goes crazy, 'oh he's using gas!'"
Getty Images
Kim Jong Un, North Korea
Despite North Korean missile tests and even talk of potential war with the country, Trump still has kind words for Kim. "And at a very young age, he was able to assume power," he said. "A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie."
Getty Images
Vladimir Putin, Russia
Trump has infamously never said an unkind word about Putin, a leader known for human rights abuses, since becoming a candidate for president. As a candidate, Trump repeatedly called Putin a stronger leader than President Barack Obama. "You can say, 'Oh, isn’t that a terrible thing,' I mean, the man has very strong control over his country," Trump said at a national security forum in 2016. "Now it's a very different system, and I don't happen to like the system, but certainly in that system he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader."
Getty Images
In an interview with MSNBC, Trump didn't change his tune when reminded that Putin has had journalists and dissenters killed, instead saying, "I think our country does plenty of killing, also."
Bashar al-Assad, Syria
Although Trump bombed a Syrian airfield in April in response to a gas attack on Syrian civilians, he previously praised Assad as being a stronger leader than Obama, and for fighting ISIS. "I think in terms of leadership, he's getting an A and our president is not doing so well," Trump said in September 2015.
Getty Images
Moammar Gaddafi, Libya
Gaddafi's forces were accused of being responsible for war crimes before he was captured and killed by rebels in 2011. "We would be so much better off if Gaddafi were in charge right now," Trump said during a Republican debate in February 2016.
Wikimedia
"If these politicians went to the beach and didn't do a thing and we had Saddam Hussein and if we had Gaddafi in charge, instead of having terrorism all over the place, we'd be -- at least they killed terrorists, all right?" Trump went on. "And I'm not saying they were good, because they were bad, they were really bad, but we don't know what we're getting."
Getty Images
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey
Turkey narrowly passed a referendum that grants Erdogan a great deal of additional powers, pushing the country away from democracy and toward authoritarianism. Trump called Erdogan to congratulate him on the victory. He also invited Erdogan to the White House.
Sky News
Benito Mussolini, Italy
Trump retweeted a quote from the fascist Axis power dictator, then defended it in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press." "I want to be associated with interesting quotes," Trump said of the retweet, and stated it didn't matter who said it.
Twitter
Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Egypt
Though it’s known that el-Sissi has ordered the murders of his opponents and has clamped down on dissent and women’s rights, Trump invited the Egyptian president to the White House in April. During the meeting, Trump said, “I’ve had a deep appreciation and admiration of your unique personality, especially as you’re standing very strong in the counter-terrorism field.”
Getty Images
1980s Communist Chinese Government
Trump's authoritarian-praising comments go back decades. He called the Chinese government's 1989 massacre of protesters a show of strength. "When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it," Trump said in a 1990 interview in Playboy. "Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength."
Getty Images

1 of 13

Donald Trump seems to have a lot of nice words for authoritarians

Donald Trump has a habit of using kind words to describe authoritarian world leaders — despite issues like human rights abuses, anti-democratic policies, and violence against their own people. Here are ten that Trump has been positive on, either in his words or through his actions.

View In Gallery