The Front national under Marine Le Pen: a mainstream political party?

The role of economic and cultural changes in the rise of far‐right in Greece: A regional analysis

“…In the UK, the Eurosceptic and anti‐migration UKIP, which had already raised its voting share, led the ideological race towards a Brexit referendum (Clarke et al, 2016). In France, Marine Le Pen entered the second round of elections for the French Presidency, only to be defeated by Macron as the preferred candidate of all other united parties (Bastow, 2018). In Austria, a far‐right candidate came very close to winning the presidential race.…”

Enemies of liberty? Nationalism, immigration, and the framing of terrorism in the agenda of the Front National

“…During the leadership of Marine Le Pen, the party significantly shifted its economic platform from a predominantly right‐wing to a left‐wing stance (Ivaldi, ). This shift has also been accompanied by a strong emphasis on social issues (Betz, ) and is related to an attempt by Marine Le Pen to make the party appear credible to deal with rising unemployment and economic hardship (Bastow, ). Marine Le Pen's claim to be the advocate of “the silent majority” (Betz, ) is a clear appeal to those left behind by modernisation, i.e., the economically insecure who have been marginalised by globalisation, technological change, and other societal shifts.…”

“…Her transformation of the party's programmatic agenda is underpinned by an overall turn towards support for French Republicanism (Bastow, ; Betz, ): i.e., the promotion of the FN as “the only genuine defender of the ideals reflected in French republicanism, but betrayed by the political establishment” (Betz, , p. 3). This turn has helped the party increase its popularity (Bastow, ), reaching a broader electoral base that captures “younger” votes (e.g., Stockemer & Amengay, ) and achieving a closing of the far‐right gender gap in France (Mayer, ; Mayer, ).…”

“…The key to this strategy is the presentation of radical Islam as antithetical to the principles of laïcité : Marine Le Pen has repeatedly suggested that it is not Islam per se that runs counter to the principles of the French Republic, but rather Shariah, because this doctrine constitutes “the intrusion of the religious realm into the secular realm” (Betz, , p. 10). The FN's new commitments to the French Republic, therefore, are used to justify the party's position on terrorism by portraying France as under the threat of Islamisation and Islamic terrorism in particular (Bastow, , p. 22).…”

“…There is a debate in the literature about the extent to which Marine Le Pen's populist turn constitutes a fundamental turning point for the party's identity or is merely a rhetorical shift (see Alduy & Wahnich, ; Bastow, ; Betz, ; Stockemer, ). However, the focus of most works is on the party's agenda more broadly.…”