France’s leftist-controlled legislature passes law legalizing marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples, but the deep …
extreme-right
After Sarkozy, Will France’s Conservatives Turn to the Far Right?
Warnings of “antiwhite racism” by one of two contenders for the leadership of France’s main conservative party spark controversy
French Essayist Blames Multiculturalism for Breivik’s Killing Spree
New essays by French author Richard Millet, which say Anders Behring Breivik’s Norwegian massacre was the result of immigration and multiculturalism, have caused an uproar in France
Why Madonna’s Swastika Swipe May Actually Help Marine Le Pen
Madonna’s concert video featuring Marine Le Pen’s face with a swastika on it has generated a lawsuit from the extreme-right National Front party — and unease that the pop star went too far
After Socialist Romp in Elections, France’s Conservatives Face Existential Crisis
French President François Hollande’s Socialists win formidable legislative control, while France’s conservatives suffer the consequences of having pandered to the country’s far right
François Hollande’s Leftist Allies Lead French Vote
Leftist parties appear set to capture a majority in France’s parliamentary elections, leaving François Hollande with a freer hand to enact the pro-growth, socially-attentive policies he’s promised amid Europe’s debt crisis.
Meet French Candidate Marion Maréchal-Le Pen: Third-Generation Extreme-Right Militant
Though the surprising success of extreme-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen may have made her the most attention-grabbing contestant in France’s recent elections, the 43 year-old National Front (FN) leader may soon find …
French Presidential Election: Marine Le Pen Haunts the Sarkozy-Hollande Debate
With just four days to go before the run-off in France’s presidential election, incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist front-runner François Hollande squared off in a raw-nerved television debate followed by millions of …
A Dangerous Game: Why Sarkozy’s Bid for Far-Right Votes May Backfire
The electoral dilemma facing French presidential finalists Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande is as urgent as it is heavy with risk: how to lure the nearly 6.5 million voters who backed extreme-right candidate leader Marine …
Sarkozy’s Xenophobia: French President Panders to the Extreme-Right
French economic growth is slowing, unemployment is rising, Greece is still a risk to default, and the crisis-rocked euro—while somewhat stabilized of late—is still not out of the existential woods. Yet despite those burning …
There He Goes Again: Threatening To Suspend Schengen Accords, Sarkozy Drifts To the Extreme Right
It would be tempting to give French President Nicolas Sarkozy points for being consistent, except his incessant efforts to approximate the positions of surging extreme-right leader Marine Le Pen have proven so catastrophic it’s difficult not to wonder if the Elysée isn’t suffering from a deep and dysfunctional learning disability. …
Should France’s Moderate Conservatives Dump Sarkozy Before It’s Too Late?
The U.S. Republican party isn’t the only big conservative force in Western politics experiencing divisions between its traditionally moderate majority and a defiantly rightward-leaning wing. France’s ruling Union for a Popular Majority (UMP) is similarly witnessing public clashes between internal factions generated by efforts to …
More Polling, More Bad News For Sarkozy
French pundits who had feared an historically high score by the extreme-right National Front (FN) in Sunday’s second round of local polling breathed a sigh of relief when the party’s tally didn’t meet expectations. But while the FN’s 11% performance was well below its 15% first-round take—and nearly half of the 20% result some …