The Heat: Weekly round table on ROK, French Elections

The Heat

French presidential election candidate for the far-right Front National party, Marine Le Pen, left, and French presidential election candidate for the En Marche ! movement, Emmanuel Macron, pose prior to the start of a live broadcast face-to-face televised debate in La Plaine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 3, 2017 as part of the second round election campaign. Pro-European progressive Emmanuel Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen are facing off in their only direct debate before Sunday’s presidential runoff election. (Eric Feferberg/Pool Photo via AP)

France heads to the polls Sunday to pick its next president. The contest has come down to two – far right candidate Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron.

Meanwhile, voters in the Republic of Korea head to the polls to vote for a new leader, next week. The Republic of Korea votes to replace impeached President Park Guen-hye. The election has revealed deep divisions among the population over priorities and politics.

A boy waits for his father casting his early vote for the May 9 presidential election in Seoul, South Korea, at a local polling station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon).

To discuss what’s at stake in this upcoming French election:

  • Frank Romano, a professor of law, literature and history at the University of Paris Oueste
  • Ansgar Graw, senior political correspondent for the German newspaper, Die Welt

For an in-depth conversation about the vote in the ROK:

  • Myung-Koo Kang, a political science professor at New York’s Baruch College
  • Qinduo Xu, a political analyst for China Radio International
  • Ivan Eland, director of the center on peace and liberty at the Independent Institute