Far-Right National Front Gains In French Regional Elections

I’m not a fan of Le Pen or her National Front party, but when the rest of France’s political establishment, including the so-called conservatives, is so consistently weak-minded, it should not surprise us that French voters would respond to Le Pen’s clarity and directness.

The achievement for the anti-immigrant party Sunday comes shortly after last month’s Islamic State terror attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people.

Twenty-five year old Marechal-Le Pen, the granddaughter of party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen and niece of party leader Marine, led the first round in southeast France with 42 percent – twice her grandfather’s score there in 2010.

Le Pen described the result as “magnificent”, and emphasized that her party is dedicated to “the preservation of our way of life”, a reference to the massive influx of migrants to France.

Under French regional election rules, all candidates with more than 10% are eligible for next Sunday’s second round.

Runoffs will be held on December 13, with the National Front well-placed to win one or more regions.

Only two members of the party’s political bureau, ex-ecology minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morisot and former prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, opposed Sarkozy’s line, arguing that the Republicans should withdraw in the Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrenées region, where they are in third place after the FN and the Socialists.

Marine Le Pen’s National Front won more votes than mainstream rivals in the first round of regional elections at the weekend.

More than two-thirds of respondents said their aim had been to punish President Francois Hollande’s PS government. This figure is up from the 24.8 percent of the vote it received in European Parliament elections in 2014, as well as the 25.4 percent it obtained in municipal elections early this year (totaling about 4.7 million and 5.1 million votes, respectively). A possible FN victory in the second round could be used as a launchpad for Le Pen’s presidential bid in 2017.

On Monday, Marine Le Pen was careful not to claim victory, and also denounced the Socialists’ tactics as anti-democratic. Polling agencies Ifop, OpinionWay and Ipsos projected that the National Front won between 27 and 30% support nationwide.

According to Barah Mikail, senior researcher at FRIDE worldwide think tank, based in Madrid and Brussels, and Associate Professor at Saint-Louis University, Madrid, despite the results of the FN it is not the most significant political power for numerous French voters.

Le Monde wondered: “how can a reactionary and xenophobic party, which is made, in spite of what is said, by an ideology that goes against the values of the Republic, appear as an opportunity for over one in four voters?” The party was historically associated with xenophobic, racist or antisemitic stances, but since taking charge Ms Le Pen has worked to soften its image and distance herself from her father.