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BY JED JALECO DEL ROSARIO
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Sunday, April 30, 2017
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YEARS ago, Front Nationale (FN) – France’s most prominent Nationalist Party – was a small, fringe political party, but after a series of Islamic-related terrorist events, economic stagnation and vast dissatisfaction over the European Union (EU), the party has now become a major force in the French political sphere. This growing power is most evident in the party’s presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, who may become the country’s next president in the days to come.
Front Nationale was originally headed by Jean Marie Le Pen, Marine Le Pen’s father and a noted French right-wing figure. However, the elder Le Pen had never been able to break into the mainstream, mainly because his chief supporters had been irate French repatriates who felt bitter over the decolonization of Algeria.
Today, the FN is much different. It is the premiere anti-EU, anti-immigration party in France, and it is on the rise, but Le Pen is still facing stiff challenges from the mainstream political establishment.
France’s presidential elections have a two-stage process. The first stage functions as an elimination round, whereas the second stage is treated as the big fight. Le Pen has already won the first round, but her victory in the second round is still far from assured.
Presently, the race between Le Pen and her opponent, Emmanuel Macron, is quite tight, and it is anyone’s guess how things will turn out in May. If Le Pen wins, it’s almost certain that she will put up a referendum for France to leave the EU; a referendum that the “Yes” faction is almost certain to win.
Should France leave the EU then two things will most likely happen. First, more European countries are likely to follow France and Britain’s example to leave the EU, which essentially means that the EU will be destroyed.
Secondly, if Le Pen wins then it’s very likely that French Nationalism – and by extension immigration restriction and protectionism – will arise to undo years of EU and neoliberal policies in the country.
Additionally, should Le Pen win, her victory will embolden nationalists all over Europe, and immigration restrictions will begin to gain more and more momentum as Europeans begin to rediscover old nationalistic feelings.
France has always been the most prominent country in Europe, and can be thought of as a harbinger of things to come on that continent. So if Le Pen wins, we can expect a new direction not only for France but for the rest of Europe as well. And if Europe changes, we can be sure that it will affect the rest of the world. (jdr456@gmail.com/PN)
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