National Front Breakthrough Stuns France’s Traditional Parties

By Published on December 7, 2015

A day after the far-right National Front party reinforced its claim to be France’s most potent political force, the country’s mainstream parties were confronted with unpalatable options to try to contain its seemingly inexorable rise eighteen months before the next presidential poll.

Mainstream dilemma

Three weeks after terrorists killed 130 in a series of attacks in Paris, the FN stunned the French political elite by coming first in 6 out 13 contests in first-round regional elections and winning a record 28 per cent of the vote nationwide. For traditional parties, the FN’s success poses an agonising dilemma: unite to beat the far-right in Sunday’s run-off vote, but at the risk of playing into to Ms Le Pen’s narrative of a mainstream conspiracy intent on blocking her; or stay in the race and hand her control of regional councils for the next six years, giving the FN the chance to build a track record in power.

Either way is likely to help Ms Le Pen’s presidential bid in 2017, according to Laurent Bouvet, political sciences professor at Versailles University: “For mainstream parties, it’s a lose-lose situation.”

Read the article “National Front Breakthrough Stuns France’s Traditional Parties” on ft.com.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Like the article? Share it with your friends! And use our social media pages to join or start the conversation! Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MeWe and Gab.

Inspiration
The Scarcity Mindset
Robert Morris
More from The Stream
Connect with Us