French Far-right National Front leads first round election

There’s one family that’s been behind the rise of the far-right in France, and each generation seems to move the ideology more into the mainstream. “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”.

Voters will elect more than 1,600 regional councillors from almost 21,500 candidates in France and the overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Reunion to serve a five-year, three-month term.

Le Pen, who herself topped the poll as lead candidate in the Nord-Pas de Calais-Picardie region where the migrant crisis is symbolized by the migrant camps outside Calais, refrained from claiming victory.

In the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region (South-East), the FN gets 40.55 percent.

Marine Le Pen replaced her father, party co-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011.

The National Front, led by former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, has been on the French political scene for decades and has enjoyed major successes before.

She said: “We are not a land of Islam”.

More than two-thirds of respondents said their aim had been to punish President Francois Hollande’s PS government.

“This sacrifice will not be made in vain”.

Marion Maréchal Le Pen, niece of the party leader, last week said Muslims could not be French because they rejected France’s “customs and morals” rooted in Christianity. A second round is to be held on December 13.

Sarkozy has ruled out a similar tactic by his own party, but some of his allies believe he should copy the Socialists’ strategy.

The former president said that parties should “refuse the too easy temptation of I don’t know what tactical arrangement”. She immediately set about changing the party’s anti-Semitic image to make it less toxic to voters and undo its pariah status.

Les Republicains and the National Front are likely to receive around 30 percent of votes each, according to opinion polls. Last year, however, the NF came in first during France’s European elections, winning 23 seats in the European parliament. The breakthrough marks a shake-up of the country’s political landscape before the 2017 presidential elections, with the FN coming out top in six out of 13 regions.

By midday (1100 GMT), turnout remained low at just over 16 percent. Only 49.9 percent of registered voters went to polling stations.

A second-round was planned for Sunday; in the interim other parties will negotiate and jostle for position. “What is at stake is the future of your region, the future of our country”, Sarkozy said. “Let’s mobilise everywhere”, Cambadelis.