Posted on 04/21/2002 4:37:27 PM PDT by Pokey78
Le Pen's victory is an indictment of France's voting rules
The defeat of Lionel Jospin in the first round of the French presidential election is a terrible indictment of his five years as Prime Minister. Far worse, however, and far more sensational is the victory by Jean-Marie Le Pen, the veteran brawler of the National Front, who according to preliminary results gained more votes than any other candidate except Jacques Chirac. He now goes forward to be the challenger to the incumbent in the Elysée in the second round next month. This is by far the best result for a candidate representing the xenophobic, anti-immigrant far Right anywhere in Europe. It calls into question not only the commitment of French voters to the values of civilised multiculturalism, but also a system of democracy that has let this happen.
Much of M Le Pen’s support was a protest, just as the defeat of M Jospin was a vote of no confidence in the colourless standard-bearer of the moderate Left. The election campaign has been not only the dullest on record, which has led to a very low turnout and a large number of abstentions; it has also been dominated by one single issue: crime. French voters have been horrified by the growth in street crime, in violence, fraud, theft and racial tensions in the inner cities. M Le Pen has exploited this fear and harnessed it to his own anti-immigration stance, implying that much of the crime, and especially the trouble in the inner cities, is the result of allowing so many Arabs, asylum-seekers and dark-skinned immigrants to settle in France. And too many people have been deceived by this overtly racial analysis.
Both President Chirac and M Jospin are partly to blame. Neither took the concern about crime seriously until it was too late. The President ran a campaign that was virtually free of any political vision, coasting along on his charm and his bonhomie. Although he began to focus on law-and-order when he saw that it was a good stick with which to beat M Jospin, he offered no serious political analysis of France’s underlying malaise or social problems, believing that a more upbeat note and a more positive campaign would appeal more to the middle classes. He was wrong. He appears to have won a mere 20 per cent of the vote, a derisory total for a man who has bestrode France for the past seven years and has been a political figure for the past 30.
M Jospin, too, recognised the concern of voters, but seemed powerless to put forward any tough message of reassurance. His fear of being outflanked by other candidates on the Left led him to retreat into the tent of traditional socialism, where his blaming social ills on inequality seemed to voters like a prescription from a discredited past.
But if M Jospin looked dated, M Le Pen, at 73 the oldest candidate, was a throw-back to a much earlier and nastier past — one associated with France’s vicious war in Algeria, the quasi-fascist rhetoric of old movements such as Action Française and the thuggery that was so prevalent in the brawls that erupted when immigrants first settled in Paris, Marseilles and the other big cities.
No voter could claim not to know what M Le Pen stands for. He has been propounding the same ugly message for years. The shock of his victory must now galvanise all those who shunned the polls in favour of the spring sun into a huge turnout next month to ensure a crushing victory for M Chirac. The shock must also do something else: show France the folly of new voting procedures that have allowed far too many people to get on the ballot. At least eight candidates, many with no hope of victory, split the vote of the Left. France now has only itself to blame if the choice is between the Right and the far Right. Voters should be shocked by what they have done. France must now deal with the consequences.
But why do you think this is more than a "bump in the road" for socialism.
You would think that after Margaret Thatcher, Britain would have learned that conservatism works, but they turned left again.
Maybe an old para from the "vicious" guerre d'Algérie is what's needed in this time of the war on terrorism.
Hey, London Times editors, what made you develop such a taste for "civilized multiculturalism" that you imply dissenters are uncivilized?
This is too much. Really. Not that I didn't say the same thing to myself when Algore was almost elected president.
The other part of that most extremely stupid sentence, the part about "civilised multiculturism," is that what you call it when crime and racial tensions increase dramatically? Is there such a thing as "civilised multiculturism?"
Too bad there weren't a few more brawling rightist thugs in France in those days. Should have kicked their asses all the way back to Algeria, and saved a lot of heartache in the decades that followed. Now the country is fast on its way to becoming just another Muslim toilet.
Charles Martel, call your office.
-ccm
"Deceived," were they? Interesting.
Well, it should be easy enough for the haughty weinie penning this editorial to rebut this "deception" with some easily accessible government statistics on who, specifically, is committing the crime, shouldn't it? Trot out those numbers detailing how crime is committed by nonwhite immigrants in proportions equal to their presence in the population and embarass this mouth-foamer Le Pen right now!
Funny, I don't see any further reference to this question. Did I miss something, folks?
"It (Le Pen's victory) note only calls into question the commitment of French voters to civilized multiculturalism, but also a system of voting that let it happen"
First of all...note how any questioning of multiculturalism is inherently "uncivilized" by direct inference.
Second, I was unaware that France is a multicultural country...something that is taken for granted as not even being worthy of questioning here. France is a nation of the french people and culture...if others want to live there, fine...but it is then their responsibility to assimilate.
Third...most of the immigrants are from the arab world. Do they allow "civilized multiculturalism" in their nations? How many catholic cathedrals are there in Riyadh?
Fourth...note how the author basically trashed a democratic voting process if it doesn't create the result that he wants. Scratch a socialist, and there is usually a stalinist under there somewhere.
"French voters have been horrified by the growth in street crime, violence, and racial tension....Mr. Le Pen has exploited this fear and harnassed it into his own anti-immigrant stance....implying that much of the crime, etc is the result of allowing so many...dark skinned immigrants to settle in France"
First of all...note that there is no sympathy here for the French people who are the victims of all of this. Their country is overrun...their cities are unsafe...rape, murder, etc. The author nowhere is actually sorry that this is happening..but rather is only horrified that the people doing it (and the policies that brought them to france) are actually getting blamed for the situation.
Second...Le Pen is not IMPLYING anything. The responsibility for the real surge in crime IS the wave of immigration (and the moronic immigration policies of the leftists that allowed them into the country) He is merely laying the blame where the statistical reality lies. This author's reaction reminds me of Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men"....he "can't handle the truth"
"The voters must be shocked at what they have done. And now France must deal with the consequences"
Well...Mr "Times of UK"....from what I've seen of London lately....you folks have plenty on your own plate. After the French have cleaned things up...maybe they'll let you borrow Le Pen.
Second round would be a massive victory for Bush.
Sounds like a great system to me!
(Of course, I know the answer, which is: Whites are Evil, Christianity is Evil, Men are Evil, etc)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.