France's far right too successful

The extreme right-wing French party Front National is gaining ground. According to a survey carried out last week by the opinion and market research firm TNS Sofres, 31 percent of respondents "back the ideas of the Front National". The daily Dagens Nyheter sees the poll as an alarm signal for France and Europe: "Above all the party finds support among the rural workforce. The statistics could hardly be more clear: these are the people who suffer the most from the austerity measures and unemployment. ... The high level of support for the Front National is further bolstered by dissatisfaction with other parties. In the conservative camp many have lost faith in Nicolas Sarkozy. He wanted to create jobs for the French but has failed to keep his promise. In addition the Front National has lured traditional left-wing voters with a rhetorical style that has borrowed much from the Left in terms of form and content. ... [The leader of the FN] Marine Le Pen will certainly not be Sarkozy's successor. But she could very well make it to the second round of the presidential elections at the end of April. That is bad enough."

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