The National Front and French Politics: The Resistible Rise of Jean-Marie Le Pen

by Jonathan Marcus

Overview

The extreme right-wing National Front is now France's fourth largest political party. In 1986 under a proportional electoral system it won thirty-five seats in the French National Assembly; in the 1988 Presidential election the National Front's leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, obtained over fourteen percent of the popular vote. Over the past decade, it has won representation at virtually all levels of French politics.
Le Pen's xenophobic anti-immigrant message has clearly attracted significant support in France. He has had a major influence upon the terms on which issues like immigration, nationality and racism are debated in France. Drawing on personal interviews with Le Pen and other National Front leaders, Jonathan Marcus traces the rise of Le Pen's party, and its impact on the French political scene, and in the process raises important questions about the future of French, European, and world politics. How far have the mainstream parties of both Left and Right faced up to Le Pen's challenge? Is the National Front now a permanent feature of French politics? To what degree is Le Pen a threat to French democracy? And finally, how successful will Le Pen be in pushing his agenda in the European Parliament?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814755358
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	05/01/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Marcus is Defense Correspondent for the BBC World Service. He has published widely on French politics and international issues, notably in The World Today, International Affairs and The Washington Quarterly.

Table of Contents

Preface - List of Abbreviations - Introduction: The National Front's World - The Emergence of the National Front - Le Pen: The Man and His Party - The Electoral Rise of the National Front - Immigration as a Political Issue - The National Front's Ideology - The Response of the Mainstream Parties - Conclusion: The National Front in a European Context - End-notes - Select Bibliography - Index

Editorial Reviews

Marcus, currently defense correspondent for the BBC World Service, traces the rise of the extreme right-wing political party in France, its impact on French politics, the extent to which the mainstream parties have faced up to its challenge, whether it threatens democracy, whether it is now permanent a feature of the political landscape, and Le Pen's prospects for pushing his agenda in the European Parliament. Based on personal interviews. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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