Jonathan Marcus

The National Front and French Politics: the Resistible Rise of Jean-marie Le Pen Jonathan Marcus

Jacket Description/Back: 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. At the 1995 Presidential election its leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, obtained fifteen per cent 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 attracted significant support in France. Indeed the National Front leader has had a major influence upon the terms in 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?Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 202-206) and index. Publisher Marketing: 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. At the 1995 Presidential election its leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, obtained fifteen per cent 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 attracted significant support in France. Indeed the National Front leader has had a major influence upon the terms in 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?Publisher Marketing: 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?

Contributor Bio:  Marcus, Jonathan 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". Contributor Bio:  Nerlove, Marc Marc Nerlove is Professor of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and author of The Dynamics of Supply.