The campaign flyer for the National Front party in Val-de-Marne, a district east of Paris, doesn’t mention immigration, the party’s signature issue. Instead, it features a cartoon of a denuded rooster, reports Bloomberg.
“Tired of getting plucked?” it asks. “Say so! Vote on Sunday!”
Blending economic issues into its nationalistic focus helped the party, led by Marine Le Pen, finish second in the initial round of local elections last week, with 25.2 percent of the popular vote. It was the highest score ever for the party her father founded in 1972. In Val-de-Marne, the party, known as the FN, is in a position to get a seat on the council for the first time.
“We’ve got to show our faces, show that we have ideas,” said candidate Jean-Philippe Lévêque, 60, as he distributed the fliers outside the market in the town of Le Plessis-Trevise. “For instance, we’re for social spending but we’re against wasting taxpayers money.” He got enough votes to run in the deciding round on Sunday.
Val-de-Marne, far from the FN’s traditional support bases of southern France and the far north, shows how the party is making inroads into new territory two years ahead of presidential elections.
For socialist president François Hollande and his likely opponent, former president Nicolas Sarkozy of the UMP, it’s a message that voter dissatisfaction with France’s near-record unemployment may trump concerns about supporting a party that both leaders have branded as extremist.
“Le Pen is gaining ground because she’s succeeded in making people see economic issues through the lens of the fear of immigration,” said Nonna Mayer, author of the 2002 book “The French Who Vote for Le Pen.” “Her plan appears clear and attractive in contrast with opponents who’ve lost credibility.”