France’s Front National (FN) has gone from a protest vote to a genuine election contender over the last twenty years.
According to research by Ifop comparing surveys of FN voters in 1997 and 2017, the share of people putting their cross next to the Le Pen-led party as an act of defiance to the political status quo has significantly reduced; from 84% twenty years ago to 60% in the lead up to this year’s crucial presidential election.
Even among its supporters, the party was largely seen as ‘racist’ in 1997. The prevalence of this opinion has fallen since Marine Le Pen took over from her father, Jean-Marie, though.
Over the last two decades there has been a 25 percentage point drop here, suggesting that Marine’s attempts to clean up the party’s image is working, pulling in voters from a much wider spectrum of French society. The extent to which she has been successful in this will be revealed on Sunday when the polling booths open for the first round of voting.
You will find more statistics at Statista
61 Comments
geecee
April 22, 2017 at 19:37People’s memories are short. History repeats itself, and for a good reason. We tend to only take in consideration what has happened in the last few years, forgetting/ignoring the past. Front national hasn’t changed, we have. We have seen this play before, around 8 decades before to be exact.
Alex
April 22, 2017 at 19:27The French like the Brits and Americans want their country back. The Empire Union is falling apart, at long last. Liberal Progressives have had their turn, time to move over…..
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 20:02So who had America the same people who had Britain? Liberal progressives will always come out on top because numpties like you have no idea what they’re talking about. Do you honestly believe that the world will be a better place run by backward looking reactionaries. Don’t answer that it’s way beyond your intellectual ability.
Smudger
April 22, 2017 at 20:33Amen to that!
Muffin the Mule
April 23, 2017 at 09:50Wasn’t really aware they had been invaded and taken over by anyone. When did this major event happen? Perhaps the Scots and Irish now also want their country back and the English…
Alex
April 23, 2017 at 13:54It happened when our enemies like you decided to high jack our languages, destroy our national cultures and attempt to transform us into a global state, with so-called global warming and into multiculturalists like you.
We said no, you don’t do no – you don’t accept the democratic right of the Brits, Americans or anyone else to vote for what they want in their own countries.
You would not understand the term “want their own country back”, because you don’t want your own country. But mostly you are wrong about liberal progressives winning, con merchants do a lot of damage, but they never win.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 10:06Too many people , including many of our own commentators still think of Le Pen’s party as it was 20 years ago. Seems the French people are more current in their thinking and opinions.
Just as with Brexit , those that oppose her are very quick and eager to chuck about the word racist with a scattergun approach which renders their opinion meaningless.
A general election is normally a chance for the citizens to choose what kind of a country they want , this French ( and the coming British) election is more a choice of wether or not you want a country at all. The extremist EU are leaving no option for voters , but to choose extreme nationalism as an antidote.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 13:48A general election is the means by which people choose the government they want. The country we’ve got is a given…..we just choose governments to run it properly according to how they say they are going to run it. There really is no more need to re-invent the UK than there is to re-invent the wheel.
Smudger
April 22, 2017 at 20:48Pendulum swings like a pendulum do.
But actually all this ‘far right’ name calling by the liberal losers is probably not as far right as the loony far left are left. The majority of people want to live safely in the countries they know with their own identity and values. They’ve been railroaded down the diversity and globalisation road and now realise it’s the wrong way. Bullys only flourish until they are stood up to. That time is now.
Personally, I don’t visit another country to experience exactly the same thing as I do at home. Vive le difference!
NuffSaid
April 23, 2017 at 01:35Extremist eu? You cannot make this up.
Muffin the Mule
April 22, 2017 at 10:05Vote for her is tacit acceptance of extremism. She effectively is a total nationalist, very much like the Vichy Nazi sympathisers.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 10:11Globalism will never succeed over nationalism, it’s a fools errand to attempt it. The world is never going to merge into one country and the EU have guaranteed their own destruction by attempting it.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 11:06When Marx wrote Capital he talked about capitalism spreading its tentacles all over the world. Lenin in 1917, I think, wrote about “finance capitalism” spreading its influence all over the world. When Hitler talked about an “international Jewish capitalist/communist conspiracy” against Germany, he too was talking about globalisation. My point is “globalisation” has been around for over 100 years and the capitalism you personally never fail to congratulate as a resounding success over socialism has been the outcome. Just because it has suddenly become fashionable for right wing politicians to milk the fears and concerns of those who some commentators refer to as globalisation’s “left behinds” does not suddenly render a century long reality into a fantasy “fool’s errand” somehow elevating that other “fool’s errand” nationalism onto the pedestal of rational ideology.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 12:48Yes , globalisation as you describe it has been around for a long time , as is the way of these things though it’s gone through various changes in that time. Today , largely due to the influence, or interference, of the EU it’s morphed into something altogether more sinister. Today globalisation is used as a vehicle to return to the days of imperialism.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 12:52You throw these concepts, globalisation, imperialism around with your usual “expertise”. Do you even know what they mean?
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 12:55Could Trump be elected if many people were not having just surface knowledge???
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 13:10I’m following the current debate in the UK on the up and coming election and despite everything that has gone on with Brexit and Trump the electorate are once again being taken for a ride by politicians from all the parties whose policy proposals are so devoid of substance that there is a fear voters will be so disenchanted they probably won’t turn out to vote on June 8. I was listening to a commentator this morning saying with a lot of exasperation that Theresa May and the Conservatives are so far ahead even if they told the truth about the rumour that they may increase taxation they would still win. So why can’t they trust the electorate with the truth?
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 13:43I am of the view that this oppertunistic populism as initiated by Ms.May and in weak moments of political life ,accepted by scared politicians whom Brexit team has left in this wilderness without any phased out action plan is mainly
responsibke for this latest haughty development.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 13:50I’m afraid Slomi , pseudo intellectuals such as yourself are dismissive of opinion you disagree with as having a lack of knowledge. Such people set themselves up as theoretical experts but with no practical skill , in falling into this trap you lose sight of the changing world around you.
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 14:09You need to ask GE before opening your mouth.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 16:10Your technique for saying only what is wrong and never writing what is right is support for my claim.
You are all theory and no practice.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 14:36I’m reasonably confident that I do.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 15:39I’m very confident you don’t. Unless of course you googled them in the last couple of hours. Still, I doubt have any idea of the significance of those concepts especially as you seem to be contending that the EU members are sitting back allowing themselves to become colonies of the EU.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 16:03That’s is exactly what the EU members are doing.
Just look at the journey of the EU / common market / whatever else it’s been called over the decades. Are members today more closely linked into an Empire of the EU or are they not. Then cast your mind forward another decade or so , how far will that journey have gone…..
The Empire will be complete , individual nations a thing of the past. Until the Third World War brings it crashing down. That is the reason we had the first two , is it not.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 16:13What a load of crap. Sounds like you’ve have one too many, fallen asleep in the midday sun woken up and decided to reel off this drivel.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 19:47I’ve actually not had a nap at all and am fairly sure I haven’t had one too many either ….. not yet anyway.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 19:56So basically you’ve got no excuse for writing this crap!
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 21:04One man’s crap is another man’s insightful observations. I believe the fullness of time will vindicate my comments , your own moment of clarity may not be too far away.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 23:45Trust me one man’s crap is every man’s crap. That’s because crap is crap!
NuffSaid
April 22, 2017 at 21:14But it’s ok for the British to be the head of an empire isn’t it? The only difference is that Britain sits at the top and all other nations are subservient to it. That is empire banjo. That is something the eu is not.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 23:05No it wasn’t ok for Britain to be the head of an Empire , that’s why the Empire ended . It’s the way of these things , even the Soviet Union ended , so why on earth is the EU trying to build an empire in the 21st century ? it’s just not acceptable any longer. Why is it so difficult for so many , otherwise apparently intelligent people , to see this, It’s right there in front of you
NuffSaid
April 24, 2017 at 09:55You should stop reading the daily mail and express, they are bad for your mental wellbeing.
NuffSaid
April 22, 2017 at 13:50Why blame the eu? Globalisation in the form that you so detest is very much a British/American construct which has become the norm and from which the have nots in both nations have paid a heavy price. The Eu’s aspiring economic model is that followed by the Scandinavian nations, a fairer distribution of wealth albeit through higher taxation and more streamlined economies. This is abhorrent to the British, in particular the conservatives. The Tory’s have overseen the sale of the vast majority of uk assets most of which have gone to foreign buyers. This is globalisation at its purest leaving nothing in the hands of the British people. What they and the ‘establishment’ have cleverly done is to convince you that this is all a result of the eu single market etc. It is clearly not. France is one of the most protectionist economies in the eu least affected by globalisation but still has the ‘have nots’. What le pen is now doing is copying the strategies of political parties in the uk/USA to tap into discontent. Discontent which is prevalent in any countries economy as not all wealth can be distributed equally. It is a popularist strategy which has yielded results in the USA and uk which fake promises of a brighter future based on the romanticism of the past.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 14:08It’s not at all British and American construct, neither of those two country’s are in anyway attempting to govern the other.
You are still in the mindset that globalisation is a method of trade , need to catch up.
NuffSaid
April 22, 2017 at 15:27Globalisation is about trade. I am not sure about your statements ‘ neither country is attempting to govern the other’. The uk rolls over for the USA each time the yanks request the Brits to do so. You wait until the uk enters this so called free trade agreement, like with the uk terrorist laws, it will all be one sided, heavily weighted in favour of the USA. The uk is weak on its own, this is why it joined the common market in the first place. And you can say bye bye to the NHS under a free trade agreement with the USA pushed through by a Tory government.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 15:58Globalisation is about so much more than trade today.
There’s a big difference between being asked to ‘roll over ‘ as you put it , and being told to.
Whatever trade deal the U.K does with any country after Brexit , will be a mutual deal between two cooperating nations. Not a deal controlled by the laws and conditions of an organisation.
NuffSaid
April 22, 2017 at 16:15Of course it will Banjo, of course it will. Good luck with that.
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 12:54Yours is a very mature view about fiscal as well as political dynamics. You can write this view as it is obvious you have read and researched comperatively about the issue. However,I would like to inform you that you are wasting your precious time on Banjo. His research skill is hardly mediocre and therefore he
Is arguing with you.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 12:59I’m fully aware that Banjo knows next to nothing about anything more complex than the soundbites he gleans from TV,the newspapers and on here. He tries to present a balanced point of view, which is a good thing, but the premise of his arguments are so weak his balanced view comes out as a poor recipe for either short crust or puff pastry.
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 13:09GE, I am of the view that views by Banjo suffer from lack of base knowledge in the subject matter as well as relevent readings with a focused mind. Newspapers and favorite media donot provide a substance to stand on and to debate on something serious. I really wish sometimes that Banjo and Monica may start reading good books .It is never too late actually.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 13:13Now there’s a huge leap in faith…Banjo and Monica reading good books to learn something!
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 13:47Though I believe Banjo and Monica must be sitting in sun in nice weather of cyprus and enjoying chilled beers now. Just that I wish, they would be touching some solid books also with due focus ?. It s never too late.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 13:58I read Mr Eyes for my education. Along with a couple of his recommended books , ” Blunders of our government “.
Have you any recommendations ?
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 14:02GEs views are enough for you to have some solid base . Just read them carefully ,with due focus.
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 14:02I was going to tell Slomi I’m the source of your educational inspiration but I thought it would sound a bit arrogant and besides I think I’m not having much success. Anyway, no need for the Mr. Eyes…….Gipsy will do. I’m sure by now you and i can be on a first name basis.
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 14:05Haha. Incidentally, I just expressed my honest view and it is exactly the same.If he seriously is wishing to write something meaningful ,he needs to read your comments on the issue with focus. Not with beers,
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 15:52I’m not usually so formal , but I was going for the school master – pupil look.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 15:22You’re not far from the truth with the first part. Hell youre not far off with the second bit, if I’m honest . ?? ?
Smudger
April 22, 2017 at 20:55Wee sook
Muffin the Mule
April 22, 2017 at 20:38Globalisation is NOT about becoming ONE country. It’s about acceptance and learning to live with each other instead of gutting each other.
Banjo
April 22, 2017 at 20:56Come now , you don’t really believe that.
NuffSaid
April 23, 2017 at 01:36It’s a lot better than nationalism. Look where nationalism has gotten the world in the past.
Banjo
April 23, 2017 at 09:25Indeed. Extreme nationalism and the extreme globalisation forced on a continent by the EU can only ever result in the same thing …. WAR.
How can any reasonable person expect an unelected organisation to write the laws of a independent nation and not end in war.
NuffSaid
April 24, 2017 at 09:53Trade brings peace, globalisation is about trade. Whilst it is not perfect, it does not being about war. Do you have examples of globalisation bringing about war?
Slomi
April 22, 2017 at 10:55Exactly.
JoeZA
April 22, 2017 at 12:15It’s a one dimensional view. By comparison consider the US – which is often touted as the ‘home of democracy’. Yet, its self interest has triggered (intentionally / unintentionally) various conflicts and thematic programs such as the ‘Arab Spring’. Which is the bigger threat…
Gipsy Eyes
April 22, 2017 at 13:59I think people tend to forget that when extremists fail to realise their striving for power using their customised ideological route to power the next step is to adopt the respectability of doing it legally. In 1923 Hitler tried to come to power through a putsch. He failed and as he languished in prison for a year in relative luxury he came to the conclusion that power can only be achieved using the existing system. So from 1928 the Nazis contested elections till they won and then banned them. As they say leopards find it very difficult to change their spots!
Alex
April 22, 2017 at 19:32Notice how the left wing Mule uses the word “tacit” when used against voters. Mules don’t like democracy. They cannot debate, they just try to shut down opinion and debate. Brexit, Trump – Mules cannot stand other people’s success. Pathetic, spiteful and out of touch.
Muffin the Mule
April 23, 2017 at 23:04You and those left wing fears and assertions…never been left wing.
What would you like to ‘debate’?
Alex
April 24, 2017 at 17:31More wrong assumptions from the Mule. Who says I have never been left wing? It takes one to know one. How about debating why socialism is so damaging?
Muffin the Mule
April 27, 2017 at 10:31Let’s debate… What is ‘Socialism’ and name any country that has been truely ‘socialist’ or adhered to its core principles.