French unity against far-right crumbles as National Front rises

“This is a great result that we welcome with humility, seriousness and a deep sense of responsibility”, said National Front leader Marine Le Pen, according to France 24. Khaled Sid Mohand has more from Paris.

Sticking to a decades-old tradition of mainstream French parties allying to keep the far-right out of power at all cost – dubbed the “Front Républicain” or “Democratic barricade” – the Socialists are pulling out of at least two regions and have called on their voters to back Sarkozy’s Republicans there. However, the recent killings in Paris last month and the Charlie Hebdo killings in January, 2015, have given ammunition to the FN’s views on immigrants, and Islam.

“There is a choice between two visions of France”, Valls said Monday night on the TV station TF1 – that of traditional parties and that of the extreme right “which divides the French, tries to pit one against the other”. The National Front’s biggest challenge moving forward will be to preserve its anti-establishment appeal after becoming a mainstream party. In its former life, people were often too ashamed to reveal that they had voted for the National Front. The anti-immigration party came first place in six of the 13 regions. The list in the region is led by 25-year old Marion Marechal-Le Pen, Marine Le Pen’s niece and the grand-daughter of party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Ms Le Pen was careful not to claim victory on Monday: “We’re not home and dry, especially since the election is being run in an unfair way”, she told French radio RTL. Even so, if Socialist allies are included, their share of the vote rises to more than 35 per cent and similarly The Republicans and allies had a total of about 33 per cent, meaning both can expect to finish the second round of voting with more legislators than initial results suggest.

The National Front’s anti-immigrant stance has resonated in a country shaken by the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, in which extremists killed 130 people and wounded more than 300 others.

Jean Marie’s extremism – he’s been convicted of racism and Holocaust denial – led to rifts with his daughter, who ultimately expelled him from the party.

Five years ago the party received about 11 percent of the popular vote in regional elections.

The “Front Républicain” term was first coined for a centre-left coalition in 1956, when France was at war in Algeria.

Following the attacks, Le Pen also accused Hollande of a lack patriotism, and of failing to protect France with his government’s policies on immigration.

The next presidential elections in France will be held in 2017.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. local time (07:00 GMT) and 44 million are eligible to vote.

“The FN has become France’s first party”, commiserated regional daily Le Journal de Haute-Marne.