Most of what I have heard lately is mindless ranting and hysteria. Rarely does the media actually quote anything the man has said, and even more rare do they give large pieces of his speeches. Instead, his opponants resort to undemocratic means of defeating him, such as labelling him something and then refusing to debate with him. If the man is really that much of a whack job, why not let him display it to everyone by putting him in the spotlight. The answer is that I have heard he gives very good speeches and can debate well. I suppose Chirac and the media doesn't want his voice to be heard...for people's own good, of course.
Sorry, but from those things that have come directly from Le Pen, he doesn't seem entirely like a whack-job. Some of his measures seem a bit extreme to me, but many of them seem very sensible.
At any rate, the people of France have chosen. They remain, to me, a pathetic people: only in France would the electorate have to chose between an alleged fascist and a scandalous loser. As they say, people get the leadership they deserve.
Tuor
France's empowered Muslims do not consider the Nazi Gas Chambers to be just a detail of history but rather something to be celebrated and emulated.