Page 9 - atoday
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WORLD NEWS 9
Tuesday 8 December 2015
France’s far-right soars in vote, joins mainstream parties
ELAINE GANLEY the extreme right “which French far-right leader and National Front Party, Marine Le Pen, right group in the European
Associated Press divides the French, tries to addresses the media during a news conference, Monday, Dec. Parliament. All are feeding
PARIS (AP) — France’s op- pit one against the other.” 7, 2015, in Lille, northern France. France’s far-right National Front on the migrant crisis.
tions are no longer as sim- Opponents say the Nation- ran strongly in a first-round regional vote that was the first elec- German Vice Chancellor
ple as left and right. The al Front criticizes without of- tion since an attack by Islamic extremists left 130 dead in Paris. Sigmar Gabriel said the Na-
far-right, anti-establishment fering solutions. The party, The National Front was leading in six of the 13 regions, including tional Front’s strong perfor-
National Front has ridden a which currently has four two where it was strongly ahead. mance must be a “wake-
wave of anger over migra- lawmakers in parliament, is up call for all democrats
tion and extremist attacks opposed to the European (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) in Europe.” “Standing to-
straight into the political Union and the euro cur- gether and solidarity in Eu-
mainstream — where ex- rency and fears that Mus- Far-right parties have made Hungary, Austria, the Neth- rope are now more impor-
perts predict it will stay. lim immigrants will supplant inroads across Europe in re- erlands and elsewhere. Le tant than ever, including in
The party’s historic results in French civilization, replac- cent years, from Greece to Pen heads a powerful far- dealing with the question
Sunday’s first round of re- ing church bells with calls of refugees,” Gabriel was
gional elections were the to prayer. But Le Pen says quoted as telling the Bild
latest in a series of elec- hers is the party of patriots newspaper.
toral inroads, with scores — a message with special Marine Le Pen attributes
that shamed and desta- resonance in a France on her party’s high scores to
bilized the traditional par- edge since the Nov. 13 at- the nature of the political
ties. The conservative party tacks in Paris that killed 130. class, and the system it de-
of former President Nico- Marine Le Pen replaced fends. “I believe that the
las Sarkozy and President her father, party co-found- National Front’s incredible
Francois Hollande’s Social- er Jean-Marie Le Pen, in results are the revolt of the
ists — the long-standing an- 2011. She immediately set people against the elite,”
chors of French political life about changing its anti-Se- she said Monday on RTL ra-
— scrambled to find ways mitic image to make it less dio. q
to block the ascent of the toxic to voters and undo its
far-right before the Dec. 13 pariah status. In its former
final round. life, people were often too
The showing of the Na- ashamed to reveal that
tional Front — which won they had voted for the Na-
six of 13 regions — will dy- tional Front. Experts widely
namize leader Marine Le considered its performanc-
Pen’s planned bid for the es, particularly under Jean-
presidency in 2017. In the Marie Le Pen, as a way to
traditionally Socialist north- punish mainstream parties.
eastern region where she Leading far-right expert
was running, the party won Jean-Yves Camus said he
more than 40 percent of no longer believes National
the vote. Her niece, Marion Front voters are protesting.
Marechal-Le Pen, had a “When a political party ...
similar showing in the south- keeps going through the
eastern Provence-Alpes- glass ceiling you cannot
Cote d’Azur, a stronghold say it is uniquely a protest
of the traditional right. party,” Camus said. Now,
In a bid to stop a second- he said, voters are sticking
round National Front vic- to the party.“We are incon-
tory, the Socialist Party testably in a country that
ordered its candidates to has a perfect tri-party sys-
withdraw in those two re- tem.” The far right’s long-
gions so their supporters standing calls for France
could give their votes to to increase security and
conservative candidates, lock its doors to immigrants,
a bitter exercise that Prime especially Muslims, dove-
Minister Manuel Valls said tailed this year with two
was necessary. attacks by extremists and
“There is a choice between the continuing influx of mi-
two visions of France,” Valls grants to Europe. No other
said Monday night on the party was able to tackle
TV station TF1 — that of tra- the National Front on its
ditional parties and that of own political turf.
