Le Pen with Saddam Hussein in November 1990
Despite performing badly during the 2007 French Presidential election and a number of financial disasters, the Front National seem to have re-emerged from the political wilderness by coming fourth in the first round of voting in France’s local elections.
Over all it was the Socialists and the Greens who did best, but Sunday’s biggest surprise was the vote for Jean Marie Le Pen’s Front National, which won nearly 12% of the vote. Nicholas Sarkozy’s UMP came second.
The BBC and some French media are already blaming NF’s relative rise on Nicholas Sarkozy’s attempts to address genuine concerns about national identity and immigration by debating them on TV.
This is a little unfair and it ignores the real reasons for FN’s success at the French polls, namely mainstream policy failures. While many Europeans have benefited from globalisation, there has been a growing forgotten generation. In France this can been seen through a number of anecdotes:
- 1. Housing:100,000 British residents and tourists in the Dordogne have caused property prices to rise by nearly 50% squeezing out working families from the region.
- 2. Economic competition: the French wine industry, which used to monopolize the global wine market, faces increased competition from New World Wine, which today accounts for 20% of global wine market.
- 3. Unemployment: French unemployment stands at 8%.
- 4. National identity: nearly 20% of French citizens believe shared values are unimportant.
- 5. Immigration: France has the fourth highest level of immigration in the EU.
The French Establishment must start addressing these concerns and grievances. And the BBBC should stop peddling the mistaken belief that far-right parties are the product of centre-right politicians and the tabloid press talking about unpalatable issues.
Maurice Cousins
