France’s far-right National Front (FN) stood Monday at the gates of power in several regions after record scores in the first round of elections, held just three weeks after the Paris attacks.
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While National Front had significant support, the party may not be able to translate that into victory in the second-round voting on December 13 for leadership of France’s 13 newly-drawn regions.
Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, a top Socialist Party official, said his party would withdraw from the second round in the regions that Le Pen and her niece were leading in order “to block” the FN.
According to exit polls, the FN garnered up to 30 percent of the votes outpacing the conservatives who collected up to 27.5 percent.
However, Le Pen and Marechal-Le Pen are expected to win in their respective regions, giving the National Front its first regional governments – a milestone in the history of the party, which so far has governed only a handful of small municipalities.
Ms Marechal-Le Pen, meanwhile, also scored above 40 per cent in final estimates for the vast Provence-Alpes-Cote-d’Azur (Paca) region in the south, placing her on course for a landmark win next week.
Hollande has seen his personal ratings surge to a three-year high on the back of his hardline approach to security since the Paris carnage, but his party is being punished for a stubbornly high jobless total of around three million.
PM Manuel Valls said there was a “choice between two visions of France” and said the FN “divides the French, tries to pit one against the other”. Party leader Marine Le Pen has been a vocal opponent of the European Union since its creation in 1993.
Sunday’s voting for leadership councils in the regions was widely seen as a response to the November 13 Paris attacks that left 130 dead and the influx of migrants to Europe. The ruling Socialist party of Francois Hollande managed only 26 percent.
“This is a great result that we welcome with humility, seriousness and a deep sense of responsibility”, said National Front leader Marine Le Pen, according to France 24.
Many political leaders urged apathetic voters to cast ballots as a riposte to fundamentalists targeting democracies from France to the US.
Jean-Marie was booted out of the National Front (FN) he founded by his own daughter in late August after a series of anti-Semitic and racist remarks that were deemed too damaging the party’s image.
The National Front has for decades called for reduced immigration and for France to retake control of its borders as well as its currency.
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The far-right party topped the poll right across the country with 28 per cent of the overall vote compared to the 2010 election when it achieved only 11 per cent.
