France, Alternative Libertaire AL #251 - National Front:
Between success and heartbreak (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
With its recent electoral successes, more media than ever, the FN facade completely passed
the turning point of the "demonization" initiated by Marine Le Pen, making the party more
dangerous than ever. But power struggles internally party could destabilize this dynamic.
---- The last departmental elections were again allowed to see the progression of FN vote
in France. With 25.2% of votes in the first round and 62 elected, the National Front won
more cantons in an election that during its entire history. Furthermore we see that the FN
vote today releases beyond its "strongholds" of the Northeast and the South. The FN has
successfully deployed more than 7,600 candidates, a figure unmatched, and confirming the
local roots of the extreme right and its ideas, especially baffling that it is not
correlated with work local activist in places. Under these conditions, the outlook could
be desperate. But taking into account certain parameters allows to mitigate this image of
a triumphant party.
First, abstention has played a lot for the FPI, with an average of 49.8% in the first
round and over 50% in the second. The National Front, ultraprésent mediatically, takes
advantage of his position "anti-system" against the traditional parties and particularly
the PS, which has disappeared.
Quest for respectability
Thus, much of the socialist and progressive supporters preferred to stay home to signify
their disagreement with the political system or disinterest in the absence of change of
perspective through this. Part of those who are part of the polls have opted for a vote of
protest and "ras-le-bol".
This attitude was confirmed in the second round, where the FN has not won a single
department, a poor result even though its leaders fanfaronnaient on their "victory" of the
first round. Beyond the many blunders local candidates, even if they have had little
impact on voting, have confirmed by against all those who are concerned about the advance
of the FN that behind the respectable showcase Racism and xenophobia are the most dirt
still there. This is also a visible fracture line within the FN, crystallized the conflict
between father and daughter Pen for the party's political direction.
If the FN is on the rise in recent years, the internal struggle between the advocates of
traditional extreme right, embodied by Le Pen father and supporters of the "modern" Marine
Le Pen is growing. This fight has accelerated with the suspension by the political bureau
of the party founder Jean-Marie, after challenge too. The episode, though painful for the
FN will permit, paradoxically, to reaffirm the new political line of the party, Marine Le
Pen showing that she was ready to sacrifice his father on the altar of respectability.
However, he shows by example that the desired respectability quest by Marine and friends,
as well as the transformation of the FN party manager will not happen smoothly and is not
required to succeed.
We remember the split Le Pen after the conflict / Mégret which had weakened the far right
for many years. For antifascists, the show is fun, but there was also a fundamental issue
for us to put these divisions exploited to better organize ourselves and help the birth of
a broad antifascist movement.
Hugues (G 95)
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Front-national-Entre-succes-et
