Contesting the EU in times of crisis: The Front National and politics of Euroscepticism in France

Ivaldi, Gilles

doi:10.1177/0263395718766787

Cited by 87 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The FN has espoused Euroscepticism since the mid-1990s (Hainsworth et al 2004). FN's opposition to European integration taps into a wide range of institutional, economic and cultural issues (Ivaldi 2018). The EU is castigated by the FN as an elite-driven project and a 'totalitarian jail' for the people.…”

Section: Populists Against the Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also blamed for its agenda of free circulation and immigration, which according to the FN, is leading to a 'Europeist and multicultural magma'. Finally, the EU is vilified as the incarnation of neoliberalism and it is depicted as 'the first step towards savage globalization' (Ivaldi 2018). In 2017, Le Pen's presidential campaign claimed that France should restore national sovereignty over laws, borders and currency, while also opposing free trade agreements such as TAFTA and CETA (FN 2017).…”

Section: Populists Against the Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since 2015, the unfolding of the EU refugee crisis has become a catalyst for immigration fears and anxieties caused by Islamic terrorism. More generally, voter discontent with the EU's management of the crises has created favorable opportunities for populist mobilization against the political establishment and the European Union (Ivaldi 2018).…”

Section: The Context Of the 2017 Electionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Populism in France

Ivaldi

2018

Populism Around the World

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This chapter examines the supply and demand sides of populism in France. It looks at the two main populist actors i.e. the Front National (FN) and La France Insoumise (LFI). The FN exemplifies the typical radical right populist organization, primarily mobilizing grievances over immigration, while LFI shows a left-wing egalitarian and socially inclusive profile. Electoral support for populism in France is fuelled by economic instability and voter distrust of mainstream politics and of the EU. Both LFI and the FN increasingly converge on a common protectionist platform, opposing the EU and globalization. Populist voting in 2017 is found predominantly amongst the youngest cohorts and it is strongly correlated with populist attitudes. FN voters are primarily found amongst the so-called 'losers' of globalization in the lower social classes, who are typically more anti-immigrant and more authoritarian. LFI attracts on the other hand a broader coalition of secularized voters in the middle and lower social classes, who are primarily motivated by economic concerns. Both FN and LFI voters are more Eurosceptic than the mainstream, and they share similar concerns about globalization.

show abstract

Section: Populists Against the Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Populists Against the Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Context Of the 2017 Electionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Populism in France

Ivaldi

2018

Populism Around the World

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Economic opposition to European integration remains an important thread. Given the importance of economic arguments for far right forms of Euroscepticism (Ivaldi 2018), it is important that we consider economic framings that affect contestation of European integration. This frame references challenges faced around austerity, job opportunity, and welfare.…”

Section: Crisis Theme: Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

A “Europe des Nations”: far right imaginative geographies and the politicization of cultural crisis on Twitter in Western Europe

Ganesh

Froio

2020

Journal of European Integration

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contestation over European integration has been widely studied in the rhetoric of parties, leaders, and movements on the far right in a variety of media. Focusing on Twitter use by far right actors in Western Europe, we apply corpus-aided discourse analysis to explore how imaginative geographies are used to politicize Europe among their digital publics. We find that the idea of a crisis of cultural identity pervades imaginaries of Europe amongst far right digital publics. While Europe is presented as facing a crisis of cultural identity, we find that the far right articulates an aspirational imaginary of Europe, the 'Europe des Nations' that rejects liberal-democratic pluralism in the EU and the 'establishment'. We find that the contestation of Europe in far right digital publics relies on a crisis of cultural identity, representing a translation of Nouvelle Droite imaginaries of Europe into the social media space.

show abstract

“…In southern Europe (Greece and Italy), populist parties have especially directed attacks against membership in the eurozone. In France, Front National (renamed Rassemblement National) has voiced general scepticism of the EU for many years (Ivaldi, 2018;Vasilopoulou, 2011Vasilopoulou, , 2017. Resistance to EU membership was even more forcefully expressed in the Brexit slogan of 'Take our country back'.…”

Section: Populist Critique Of the Political Elitementioning

confidence: 99%

The Populist Elite Paradox: Using Elite Theory to Elucidate the Shapes and Stakes of Populist Elite Critiques

Mangset¹,

Engelstad²,

Teigen³

et al. 2019

Elites and People: Challenges to Democracy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Critiques of elites define populism, which conceives of power relations as a unified, conspiring elite exploiting the good people. Yet, populism itself is inherently elitist, calling for a strong leader to take power and channel the will of the people. Elite theory, surprisingly overlooked in scholarship on populism, can clarify this apparent paradox and elucidate the dimensions of populism and its risk of authoritarianism in new ways. In contrast to populist ideological conceptions of power relations in society, elite theory points to the possibility that several elites with diverging voices and interests exist. Furthermore, elite theorists argue that such elite pluralism is a necessary component of a well-functioning democracy. Much scholarship on populism, often aiming to understand its causes and focussing on Western Europe and North America, points to the similarities of populist movements. The focus on similarities strengthens the understanding of populism as a uniform phenomenon and populist elite critiques as homogeneous. However, broader comparative studies show that different populist movements target a range of various elite groups. Indeed, the empirical reality of populist elite critiques targeting diverse elite groups is more in line with elite theory than populist ideological

show abstract

Contesting the EU in times of crisis: The Front National and politics of Euroscepticism in France

Cited by 87 publications

References 27 publications

Populism in France

Populism in France

A “Europe des Nations”: far right imaginative geographies and the politicization of cultural crisis on Twitter in Western Europe

The Populist Elite Paradox: Using Elite Theory to Elucidate the Shapes and Stakes of Populist Elite Critiques

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About