France’s National Front Wins Another Victory

“What we represent the day after this election is a real breath of freedom, independence and uprightness”.

Candidates pulled To try to make sure Le Pen does not win in the final round, France’s ruling Socialist Party chose to pull its candidates out of three regions where it came third, telling supporters there to back Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative Republicans.

The FN’s rise in popularity, which pundits claim is party a result of the Paris terrorist attacks last month, has raised concerns about the homophobic and anti-Semitic views that are mainstream in the party.

Under his daughter, Marine Le Pen, the party has recast itself as an anti-EU organisation and anti-Islam organisation. “Marine Le Pen wants to stop mass immigration and control French borders”.

The National Front’s strong performance has deeper roots. “The old themes and proposals of the National Front have been reprised in the political debate, not only on the right but also, more and more, on the left and in particular in the voice of the executive branch, and that legitimizes the National Front”.

France’s hard-right Front National party today took another step toward mainstream acceptance, winning a larger proportion of the vote than any other party in the first round of regional elections. “You create a front against the destructive force because now is the time to rebuild”, said former prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, from the centrist rank of the party.

This does not mean that the National Front will ultimately govern the six regions it won.

FN leader Marine Le Pen gave a triumphant victory speech, declaring this the start of a new era in politics where her ideas would dominate.

Her niece, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, 25, won her region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur with more than 40 percent of the vote. “For that, a region with several million inhabitants offers a ideal testing-ground, giving her party time to deliver some results before the presidential and legislative elections of 2017”. The National Front Party has a history of doing well in the first round but struggling to sustain its support in the second round.