Ever since the Brexit vote came to light, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been exuberant.
Le Pen, the National Front head running for president, has taken the decision as a sign that France could follow with an EU exit referendum of its own. This week, she told Time that Brexit marked “the beginning of the end of the European Union.” She described the decision to the BBC as “the most important moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall.” And, in a New York Times op-ed, she wrote the move by Britain was an “act of courage.”
But Le Pen faces a steep uphill battle. French President Francois Hollande dismissed the idea of a referendum over the weekend in a meeting with her at the Elysee Palace. So to hold a “Frexit” vote, she would have to become president. It’s a long shot. Polls show that while she may make it to the run-off stage in the country’s spring elections, she is unlikely to win the overall race.
Laura Cohn
EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA
| . |
| Nicola's hope |
| Nicola Sturgeon made the rounds in Brussels yesterday to gin up support for her bid to keep Scotland in the EU. Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, even scored a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, which was viewed by some officials as a sign the U.K. is being pressed to begin its formal exit process. |
| Fortune |
| . |
| Another female leader? |
| As U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May gained support to replace David Cameron, a woman from the Labour Party emerged as a potential challenger to current Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. Angela Eagle, Labour's deputy leader, is viewed as a "tough, Angela Merkel-type figure" who could offer a steady hand in the current tough environment. |
| New Statesman |
THE AMERICAS
| A close race |
| A new poll shows Hillary Clinton isn't ahead of Donald Trump by all that much. The Quinnipiac University poll shows she's ahead of the businessman by just two percentage points, 42% to 40%. |
| CNN |
| . |
| Dove's feel-good campaign |
| Dove has done it again. The beauty brand has another campaign featuring women of different shapes talking about why the only perception of beauty that matters is their own. Bravo, Dove. |
| Fortune |
| . |
| Another cover for Caitlyn |
| Caitlyn Jenner has made the cover of another magazine. Forty years after winning a gold medal, she is on the cover of Sports Illustrated's July issue, this time in a sparkly jumpsuit. |
| Fortune |
ASIA-PACIFIC
| Modern-day Confucianism |
| Best-selling author and self-help sage Yu Dan has gained fame for bringing Confucianism to the masses. Yu, a professor at Beijing Normal University, has sold more than 20 million books globally, earning her 10 million yuan (roughly $1.5 billion). |
| OZY |
IN BRIEF
| British woman, fired for not wearing heels, pushes to repeal the rule |
| New York Times |
| Women in Japan cut pocket money for their husbands |
| Bloomberg |
| Serena Williams: it's "sad" Zika is making athletes skip Olympics |
| Fortune |
| Comedian Jessica Williams is leaving "The Daily Show" |
| Entertainment Weekly |
| Queen Elizabeth, post-birthdays and post-Brexit: "I'm still alive, anyway." |
| Telegraph |
PARTING WORDS
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| — Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, on what the EU must do in the wake of the Brexit vote. |
