Monday, December 7, 2015

French Parties Scramble to Halt Rise of Far-Right National Front

 
Reuters, 07/12 15:26 CET

By Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s mainstream political parties were scrambling for a way to stop the rise of the far-right National Front (FN) on Monday after it emerged with an historic first-round lead in regional elections.

Boosted by fears over the Islamic State attacks that killed 130 people in Paris on Nov. 13, by record unemployment and worries about immigration, Marine Le Pen’s party secured 27.7 percent of the vote nationally. It came first in six of 13 regions in Sunday’s vote, the best showing in the history of the anti-Europe, anti-immigration party.

Riding a wave of mounting euroscepticism and anti-immigrant feeling across Europe which has brought far-right parties to prominence, the breakthrough bolsters Le Pen’s position as a serious contender for the 2017 presidential election.

It also exposed fault lines within both the country’s main traditional political groupings over the right tactics to confront the National Front in the decisive second round of the regional elections next Sunday. 

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Source: Euronews

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