France Election Result: The results of the presidential election in France have come. The leftist alliance dominated this election. However, the far-right party National Rally (RN) missed out on forming the government. The surprising thing is that the journey of this political party is more or less similar to that of India’s right-wing party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Just as BJP was formed by a few leaders, RN was also formed by a few leaders. Here, Atal-Advani played their role for BJP, while in France, Jean-Marine Le Pen played the same role for RN. As interesting as BJP’s political journey is, so interesting is RN’s political journey. Let us read about RN’s interesting political journey in this news.
There was a time when BJP did not have a single seat in the Lok Sabha in India. Then in 1984, BJP won 2 seats. After this, history was recorded from Atal Bihari becoming the Prime Minister to his resignation. And currently Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister since 2014. RN’s political journey was also similar. He also traveled from 7 seats to 143 seats.
Inspiration from Mussolini
The RN first appeared as the Front National or National Front (FN). Jean-Marine Le Pen, father of former party president Marine Le Pen, was one of its founders along with François Duprat and François Brignoneau. Some of its members were from the Ordre Nouveau or New Order (ON), a far-right neo-fascist movement. It was based on the Italian Social Movement party, which was led by supporters of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
Rise just like BJP
After being on the fringes of the political scene, like the BJP, the party won a few local elections in the 80s and won 10 seats in the 1984 European Parliament elections. In the 1986 legislative elections, it secured 10% of the vote and 35 seats in the National Assembly. The party’s rise continued in the 1990s, with Le Pen winning over 15% of the vote in the 1995 presidential elections. It presented itself as an anti-establishment alternative to mainstream French politics.
Like Atal-Advani, Le Pen created the image of his party
Just as the image of the BJP in India was brightened by leaders like Atal Advani, in France, Le Pen presented the image of his party in a different way. From being considered the liberal face to being branded as the “devil of the republic” by his critics, Jean-Marie Le Pen has come a long way in French politics. Le Pen became a parliamentary deputy or representative in 1956 and was known for his divisive views, often described as racist and anti-Semitic. He once referred to the Holocaust as “a detail of history”, which led to legal troubles for him.
He led the party for nearly 40 years and contested for the presidency several times. His greatest success came in the first round of the presidential election in 2002, when he won 18% of the votes. However, nationwide protests against him and the support of all political parties for the then President Jacques Chirac halted his progress. However, gradually times changed and the party made its own identity in French politics. As Islamophobia increased in the country, the stature of the party also increased.
Tags: France India, France News
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 8, 2024, 10:57 IST