EJP | News | France | French extreme right politician’s popularity on the rise

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French extreme right politician’s popularity on the rise

Updated: 14/Dec/2006 16:54

France's extreme-right National Front party has launched a poster campaign featuring a mixed-race girl. A slogan next to the girl, who points her thumb to the floor in a sign of disapproval, says: "Right, Left, they've broken everything: nationality, assimilation, the social ladder, secularism."

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PARIS (EJP)--- One in four people in France agrees with the ideas of extreme right Front National (National Front) leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, according to an opinion poll published Thursday by daily Le Monde and TNS-Sofrès poll institute.

The survey was conducted six months before the French presidential elections, due to be held next April, and Le Pen is one of the three main candidates. He does, however trail Socialist Ségolène Royal and Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy by a long way.

Moving away from the xenophobia and anti-immigrant of previous electoral campaigns, Le Pen’s new approach, lead by his daughter Marine, has been less aggressive and has even welcomed French nationals of immigrant origin, as seen a poster campaign, which features a North African girl.

The electoral campaign is based on the defense of French values whether you are black o white.

Upturn in support

According to the poll, the number of people who disagree with Le Pen’s policies has slipped to 70 pecent, while 28 percent of those questioned believe that he defends traditional values.

The 78-year-old Le Pen is thought to be taking advantage of how French nationals of immigrant origin are proud to be French.

He recently attracted positive words from Dieudonné, a black comedian who had fought his ideas for so long and is also known for his anti-Semitic speech.

Despite maintaining that he will place even more severe controls on immigration than Sarkozy, Le Pen is extending a hand to those he had previously railed against in an attempt to gain a greater share of the vote.

Immigrants courted

Marine Le Pen has said that people of immigrant origin are disappointed with the current government as much as they were disappointed with previous governments, and that they feel betrayed and let down on a number of issues such as employment, secularism and integration.

She claims that more and more of them are turning to her father.

Last year’s riots were sparked partly because of the lack of chances for coloured people in France and the difficulties they face when looking for housing or employment.

Le Pen shocked France and spurred protests when he reached the second round of presidential elections in 2002.