Far-right ideas, xenophobia gaining ground in France, poll shows
Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, Paris
French media is abuzz over an in-depth survey which reminded that three out of every four French people are so-called “protest votersو” in what appears to many as a major rejection of Western Liberalist democracy.
Perhaps more worryingly, with Western leftism widely considered confused and disconnected, the average French person has embraced ideas associated with far-right politics and economics.
The poll shows the far-right’s Marine Le Pen has the best approval ratings among France’s top politicians, easily outdistancing both the leading leftist and the recently re-elected Emmanuel Macron. Forty percent of France now says they defend the same values as her party, the National Rally, a score considered unthinkable in previous decades.
The survey also shows just how deeply far-right ideas have gained ground: nearly 65% of voters see immigrants as a problem, almost 60% think people can easily find a job - despite a long-running lack of quality, full-time employment opportunities - and 50% believe that businesses need less regulation.
In 2017 Macron promised to govern in a way which would reduce the influence of the extremes of the political spectrum, but the far-right and the far-left have instead grown to new highs.
Macron has repeatedly said that France is now living in an era defined by “the end of abundance”, due to the West’s choice to sanction Russia over the unrest in Ukraine. Many wonder if the widely-expected upcoming years of shortages, inflation and recession will provoke more protests of a left-wing nature, like the Yellow Vest movement, or of a new, far-right nature.
The study notes that France’s shift to the far-right began to be noticeable around 2002. That is shortly after the installation of the euro currency and several years before the Lisbon Treaty confirmed the supremacy of the European Union in many areas of European life.
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