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Europe’s crises have brought the far-right to the fore

Anna Sonny, 4 December 2015

The French regional elections this Sunday are being touted as the first test for President François Hollande after the terrorist attacks in Paris last month. Hollande, who has previously been described as France’s least popular President, saw his ratings go up a few points as a result of his bellicose response to the Paris attacks.

The French government deployed 5,000 troops in Paris to keep the streets safe in the wake of the attacks, and Hollande has managed to find common ground with Russia. Moscow is now sharing information with France’s aircraft carrier in their joint effort to destroy the so-called Islamic State.  But Front National leader Marine Le Pen has said that Hollande’s measures of reinstating border controls, deploying more armed police and revoking the citizenship of convicted terrorists with dual nationality who were born in France, were ‘picked from the saddlebag of the Front National’. She has also blamed the terrorist attacks on France’s ‘crazy, undiscerning immigration policy.’

Hollande is facing a growing political threat from the Front National, who look set to win 2 out of France’s 13 regions in the elections this weekend, including the former Socialist stronghold of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie and the party’s own strong hold in the Cote D’azur. In the UK, Ukip has come out saying that Nigel Farage was right all along when he predicted that half a million terrorists could travel to Europe under the guise of being Syrian refugees, after it appears one of the attackers had identification showing he had registered as an asylum seeker.

Each new crisis in Europe seems to boost the platform for Europe’s far-right, as their main political concerns – immigration and radical Islam – have been brought to the fore by the terrorist attacks, the migrant crisis and the economic problems that have swept the continent recently.

While the regions in France are responsible for domestic issues such as public transport and economic development, the real seat of power in France is the presidency and polls are showing that Le Pen could win the first round of voting in 2017. The regional elections could just be another historic step for the FN’s success.

The very intention of terrorism is to sow division, fear and distrust among the nations it targets.  The aftermath of terrorist attacks should never be a time for political parties to score points but the tragic events in Paris will certainly have an effect on the way France votes this Sunday.

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