So the French fear Erdoğan, Putin and Trump

The new French presidential candidate Manuel Valls has declared the people of France have to elect him if they want his country to stand up to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and American President-elect Donald Trump.

So it is clear that the French accept the fact that strong leadership is something that European countries need and that Russia, Turkey and the United States have such leaders.

Is this surprising? Of course not. The fact that European countries are facing a leadership crisis is obvious. Just look at what has happened in Britain with the Brexit. Look at the sorrowful state of affairs in Belgium and the Netherlands. See how German Chancellor Angela Merkel is struggling to keep her administration afloat.

There is a rise in marginalization in Europe that allows far-right parties, the Greens to gain political ground.

Of course, it makes us proud that the French see Erdoğan as a leader to reckon with. They are right. Erdoğan has won the hearts of his people and was elected democratically in the first round of presidential polls with a majority of 52 percent. His people have lived up to his expectations by stopping the bloody coup on July 15. Turkey has been under assault for a long time and under Erdoğan's leadership has managed to overcome all the challenges.

Putin has put Russia back on the map. He has faced challenges of all kinds, like Erdoğan, from the West and has managed to survive, thus winning the hearts of his people.

Trump has just been elected president of a super power.

The French are justified in voicing their concerns. After all, it is clear that Putin, Erdoğan and Trump are in a strong position to cooperate to reshape the Middle Eastern map at least in Syria and Iraq and tame Iran.

But besides all this, Valls has to be more concerned of the state of affairs in France rather than trying to counter Putin, Erdoğan and Trump. France faces an uncertain future. There is a possibility that if the current trends continue he may well lose the polls to Le Pen. The economic and social ills of France and the turmoil in the European Union are all issues that he has to be prepared to cope with.