One off

A lazy blip stroll under grey skies today was brightened by a butterfly I have never seen before. Google Lens tells me it's a Southern White Admiral.  Quite rare here, and as you will see from the photos in the link it has a rather spectacular underwing which I failed to get a photo of. Unlike most butterflies it did not snap its wings shut as soon as it landed. I think I will go back to the same spot in the hope of seeing it again. Extra: a lovely fresh-looking painted lady.

Stop here if you don't want to read a rant! 

Well. After my lovely evening at my book group on Sunday, it was a massive downer to discover when I got home that Marine Le Pen's extreme right Rassemblement National had increased its parliamentary seats tenfold, now with nearly 90 MPs. Worse, our département of the Aude, 100% socialist until 2017, is now represented by three RN MPs, all male. The neighbouring département of the Pyrénées Orientales was always more right wing; it now has four RN MPs (all female oddly enough). We are among only four départements in France now represented entirely by the extreme right. Well, I don't feel represented. 

There are so many targets for my anger that I don't know where to start. The people who abstained or voted blank are one of them, but so is Macron, who told us five years ago he'd stop the extreme right and then did precisely nothing to achieve this. In fact he even implied between the two rounds that the candidates to the left of him were just as bad as the ones to the right. I suppose it shouldn't have been so much of a shock given the result of the presidential election. Marine Le Pen really does represent a large chunk of French voters.

Footnote: in our little island of sanity, our village voted 75% left, 25% RN. Edit: Oh look, this day last year.