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France is having to take Le Pen's "threat" seriously
No longer a joke "“ France is having to take Le Pen's threat seriously
Besides his penchant for champagne and singing outmoded French songs, far-Right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen is known to like a practical joke.
So when he strode purposefully out of his private office at the National Front's presidential convention outside Paris this weekend towards the press tent, camera crews in tow, nobody seemed overly surprised when he veered off at the last minute into the lavatory.
The cameras were still rolling when he reappeared with a grin, chin jutting forth, to carry on with the presidential show.
At 78, Mr Le Pen can afford such low farce: his popularity ratings have never been better.
An IFOP poll in this weekend's Le Monde showed that 18 per
cent of the French say they will "definitely" vote for the National Front chief.
That is nine points more than at the same period before the 2002 election, in which he horrified Europe by coming second to Jacques Chirac.
Mr Le Pen is convinced that his fifth presidential campaign since 1974 "“ and probably his last "“ will end in the ultimate electoral earthquake in April's elections: "My goal is not the second round, it's the third: the presidency," he said as he prepared the formal launch of his presidential campaign in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris, yesterday.
Around him in the party's Bleu-Blanc-Rouge hall, party faithful, enacted the traditions of French rural life, playing boules and tombola and tasting local delicacies, such as oysters, Muscat and Corsican cured ham brought by regional National Front representatives.
T-shirts and caps were aligned on one stall with the slogan "Love it [France] or leave it" alongside champagne bottles and lighters with labels of
Mr Le Pen smiling in front of the ElysÃÆ’©e Palace.
Before 2002, the image would have raised a laugh. This time, his rivals are taking the threat extremely seriously.
The former paratrooper's cause has been helped by a mood of introspective nationalism sweeping France, rocked by last year's suburban riots, a surprise No vote in a referendum on the European constitution and profound disillusionment in its politicians.
His virulent anti-immigration stance, promise of "national preference" but also defence of French sovereignty by, for example, bringing back the Franc, have struck a chord.
"I feel the country's great anxiety in my bones. There are departments like the 93 (Seine Saint-Denis) that are losing a part of their population "“ the true French, but also law-abiding immigrants who don't want their children dragged through the maelstrom of delinquency and violence," he says.
Observers say that the younger faction of "frontistes", epitomised by his daughter Marine, who
condones gay marriage, has given a more progressive face to the brash Le Pen pÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’Ãâ┚¬ ’â┚¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�Å¡¨re.
Analysts say that despite his rising ratings, Mr Le Pen's chances of victory in France's presidential elections next year are slimmer than in 2002 because this time the race is dominated by two relatively young candidates: the Socialist SÃÆ’©golÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’Ãâ┚¬ ’â┚¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�Å¡¨ne Royal, 53, and Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, the leader of the ruling centre-Right UMP party.
Both promise change and both speak of a clampdown on security and immigration, a key issue since riots in the rundown immigrant suburbs rocked the country a year ago.
Mr Le Pen is dismissive of both, claiming that they are hijacking what have always been National Front policies. He speaks of Miss Royal as Madame "Nunuch" or Dumbo, and Mr Sarkozy as the Chameleon.
"Their attempt to imitate policies I have been promoting for years is proof that the 'Lepen-isation' of mentalities is well under way. But the people will always prefer the original to the copy," he said.
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The popularity of Miss Royal and Mr Sarkozy, and fears of another sudden Le Pen breakthrough, are expected to encourage more people to vote than five years ago.
Mr Le Pen admits that Left-wing sympathisers are more likely to vote tactically in the first round to avoid a repeat of 2002, when he ousted Lionel Jospin, the Socialist candidate.
His greatest hope is for a split in the mainstream Right: although Mr Sarkozy is almost certain to lead the UMP party, the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, and the defence minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, say they may run, egged on by Jacques Chirac, whose hatred of Mr Sarkozy is well documented.
Mr Le Pen shrugs off suggestions that the hardline Mr Sarkozy is sapping his electorate.
The UMP president's credo of la rupture "“ a clean break with past politics "“ is, Mr Le Pen says, laughable, given that he has been in the government for years.
His daughter, Marine, who has been put in charge of campaign strategy, chimes in: "The
National Front has won the ideological battle, and, as former Socialist president FranÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’Ãâ┚¬ ’â┚¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�Å¡§ois Mitterrand said, an ideological victory always precedes a political victory.
"The big question now is, will voters buy these fake revolutionaries who come from the system but claim to want to change it, or will they go for the real thing (the National Front)?"
No longer a joke "“ France is having to take Le Pen's threat seriously
Besides his penchant for champagne and singing outmoded French songs, far-Right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen is known to like a practical joke.
So when he strode purposefully out of his private office at the National Front's presidential convention outside Paris this weekend towards the press tent, camera crews in tow, nobody seemed overly surprised when he veered off at the last minute into the lavatory.
The cameras were still rolling when he reappeared with a grin, chin jutting forth, to carry on with the presidential show.
At 78, Mr Le Pen can afford such low farce: his popularity ratings have never been better.
An IFOP poll in this weekend's Le Monde showed that 18 per
cent of the French say they will "definitely" vote for the National Front chief.
That is nine points more than at the same period before the 2002 election, in which he horrified Europe by coming second to Jacques Chirac.
Mr Le Pen is convinced that his fifth presidential campaign since 1974 "“ and probably his last "“ will end in the ultimate electoral earthquake in April's elections: "My goal is not the second round, it's the third: the presidency," he said as he prepared the formal launch of his presidential campaign in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris, yesterday.
Around him in the party's Bleu-Blanc-Rouge hall, party faithful, enacted the traditions of French rural life, playing boules and tombola and tasting local delicacies, such as oysters, Muscat and Corsican cured ham brought by regional National Front representatives.
T-shirts and caps were aligned on one stall with the slogan "Love it [France] or leave it" alongside champagne bottles and lighters with labels of
Mr Le Pen smiling in front of the ElysÃÆ’©e Palace.
Before 2002, the image would have raised a laugh. This time, his rivals are taking the threat extremely seriously.
The former paratrooper's cause has been helped by a mood of introspective nationalism sweeping France, rocked by last year's suburban riots, a surprise No vote in a referendum on the European constitution and profound disillusionment in its politicians.
His virulent anti-immigration stance, promise of "national preference" but also defence of French sovereignty by, for example, bringing back the Franc, have struck a chord.
"I feel the country's great anxiety in my bones. There are departments like the 93 (Seine Saint-Denis) that are losing a part of their population "“ the true French, but also law-abiding immigrants who don't want their children dragged through the maelstrom of delinquency and violence," he says.
Observers say that the younger faction of "frontistes", epitomised by his daughter Marine, who
condones gay marriage, has given a more progressive face to the brash Le Pen pÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’Ãâ┚¬ ’â┚¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�Å¡¨re.
Analysts say that despite his rising ratings, Mr Le Pen's chances of victory in France's presidential elections next year are slimmer than in 2002 because this time the race is dominated by two relatively young candidates: the Socialist SÃÆ’©golÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’Ãâ┚¬ ’â┚¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�Å¡¨ne Royal, 53, and Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, the leader of the ruling centre-Right UMP party.
Both promise change and both speak of a clampdown on security and immigration, a key issue since riots in the rundown immigrant suburbs rocked the country a year ago.
Mr Le Pen is dismissive of both, claiming that they are hijacking what have always been National Front policies. He speaks of Miss Royal as Madame "Nunuch" or Dumbo, and Mr Sarkozy as the Chameleon.
"Their attempt to imitate policies I have been promoting for years is proof that the 'Lepen-isation' of mentalities is well under way. But the people will always prefer the original to the copy," he said.
r
The popularity of Miss Royal and Mr Sarkozy, and fears of another sudden Le Pen breakthrough, are expected to encourage more people to vote than five years ago.
Mr Le Pen admits that Left-wing sympathisers are more likely to vote tactically in the first round to avoid a repeat of 2002, when he ousted Lionel Jospin, the Socialist candidate.
His greatest hope is for a split in the mainstream Right: although Mr Sarkozy is almost certain to lead the UMP party, the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, and the defence minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, say they may run, egged on by Jacques Chirac, whose hatred of Mr Sarkozy is well documented.
Mr Le Pen shrugs off suggestions that the hardline Mr Sarkozy is sapping his electorate.
The UMP president's credo of la rupture "“ a clean break with past politics "“ is, Mr Le Pen says, laughable, given that he has been in the government for years.
His daughter, Marine, who has been put in charge of campaign strategy, chimes in: "The
National Front has won the ideological battle, and, as former Socialist president FranÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’Ãâ┚¬ ’â┚¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�Å¡§ois Mitterrand said, an ideological victory always precedes a political victory.
"The big question now is, will voters buy these fake revolutionaries who come from the system but claim to want to change it, or will they go for the real thing (the National Front)?"
