The far-right National Front won its first ever seats in France's upper house of parliament, as President Francois Hollande's Socialist party lost its Senate majority. The left still controls the lower house, which is the dominant legislative body in France, but Sunday's ballot underlined the unpopularity of the president and the continued rise of the anti-immigration, anti-Euro National Front.
The party, led by Marine Le Pen, took two seats in the august Senate, following on from its surprise victory in European parliamentary elections in May and its strong showing in municipal elections in March.
These results are beyond what we hoped for, said Le Pen. Each day that passes, our ideas are increasingly being adopted by the French people... We have great potential.
Half of the Senate's 348 seats were up for grabs, with only some 158,000 people, the vast majority local councilors, able to vote.
Early results showed that the main opposition party, the UMP, and the centre-right UDI party took at least 20 seats from the left, which had a Senate majority of just six heading into the election.
There is a complete rejection of Socialist policies, UMP senator Roger Karoutchi told BFM TV.
Hollande's popularity fell to a record low this month, with only 13% of those surveyed saying they were satisfied with the performance of president, who has struggled to revive the stagnant economy.
The National Front has successfully capitalized on growing discontent over unemployment and resentment over immigration, and hopes to score an upset in the 2017 presidential election.
There is only one door left for us to push and it is that of the Elysee, said newly-elected National Front senator Stephane Ravier, referring to the French presidency.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesAnother crack in the EU facade
Sep 29th, 2014 - 08:52 am 0Russia has been courting the European far right and now its pay-off time as these anti-European, pro-Putin nationalists start getting elected in some numbers.
Sep 29th, 2014 - 01:00 pm 0Far-Right Fever for a Europe Tied to Russia:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/world/europe/europes-far-right-looks-to-russia-as-a-guiding-force.html
Putin’s Far-Right Friends in Europe: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/world/europe/europes-far-right-looks-to-russia-as-a-guiding-force.html
American White Nationalists To Hold Conference With Russian And European Far Right: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/world/europe/europes-far-right-looks-to-russia-as-a-guiding-force.html
Love em, or hate them, in the latest poll France out of the rest was the only nation that wanted the brits out of the EU,
Sep 29th, 2014 - 06:57 pm 0So good news for us, and bad news for the EU.
Enough said.
.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!