Front national economic policy: From neo‐liberalism to protectionism

After the Left-Right (Dis)continuum: Globalization and the Remaking of Europe’s Ideological Geography

“…The new populist parties have raised appeals to state intervention in the economy (especially closed borders) for the sake of job protection. The appeal to social protectionism has become notable, for instance, in the discourse of the ''National Front'' in France (Bastow 1997), as well as in that of the ''League North'' in Italy, where large numbers of workers were mobilized in the 2008 general elections by the strongly protectionist discourse of Umberto Bossi, the party's leader (Dinmore 2008b). This shift from economic liberalism to protectionism in the economic policy position of extreme Right parties is a recent, but spreading phenomenon.…”

The extreme right in France: the rise and rise of Jean‐Marie Le Pen'sfront national

“…However, the main thrust of his argument is that welfare chauvinism, racism and immigration politics need to be seen not as single-issue determinants of NRR voting but rather as components 'embedded into a broader ideological syndrome that combines authoritarian and market-liberal orientations' (Kitschelt: 276). He is right to dismiss the 'single issue explanation' as the sole reason for extreme right success, but his insistence on market-liberalism as a central part of the FN's (and NRR's) 'winning formula' tends to be rather reductionist and thus it underplays the protectionist and mixed-cum-muddled nature of the party's economic message (see Bastow, 1997 for further discussion). Nonetheless, Kitschelt points constructively to 'political opportunity structures' as a key reason for NRR success and this, inter alia, means that the strategies and actions of other political actors are an important factor in the equation of extreme right success.…”

“…The 2001 programme, therefore, again attacks the prevalence of an 'ultra globalised economy under USA influence'. Instead the party would support a part-protectionist, part-liberal capitalist economic policy, that permitted the nation more margin of manoeuvre to defend French preferences (see Bastow, 1997).…”

Regards croisés : La presse frontiste face aux mouvements des « sans » dans les années 1990

“…D'ailleurs, Jean-Marie Le Pen évoque ce sentiment dès 1984 en déclarant : « Aimez la France ou levez le camp 46 ». De ce point de vue, le FN combat progressivement tout ce qu'il estime en mesure de déstabiliser la nation française et qui est considéré comme responsable des malheurs de la France et « dangereux pour la nation » au rang desquels les marginaux, les étrangers, les gauchistes ou les européanistes 47 .…”