The European Union came into being to maintain the neoliberal project. It hoped to create a neutral politics in Europe – a politics beyond left and right, beyond socialism and conservatism – that would allow the states to function no matter what. The EU wants the continent to be governed by parties firmly in the political centre, or by big coalitions. But many Europeans, even progressive people like myself, are a little bit tired of this constant search for “the big centre”. Moderate governments, parties and coalitions in the centre are not taking into consideration the real needs of the people while forming their policies. Most European citizens want clear, direct policies that can solve their economic problems. All this is creating an opportunity for the rise of extremists who can communicate a very clear political message. At the moment, the far right is taking advantage of this, but the far left is not. It's too important that Europe should confront the growing far right movement with left wing populism.
Tipping the right wing over The emergence of another far-right candidate on France’s political scene – Eric Zemmour, with his provocative and disruptive campaign – has boosted Le Pen’s new standing as a “practical” politician. Convicted of hate speech and known for his vitriol against immigrants and Islam, Zemmour leads a party – Reconquete or “Reconquest” – that is named after the historic period known as “Reconquista” when Christian forces drove Muslim rulers out from the Iberian peninsula. Zemmour has succeeded in not only winning some of Le Pen’s voter base over to his own party. He has also taken supporters from the mainstream centre-right that had traditionally been with the party Les Republicains. Thanks to Zemmour, Le Pen appears to be much more moderate. People now equate far right with just Zemmour, which is a big mistake as Le Pen is without a doubt still from the far right. For Jean-Yves Camus, a journalist and political analyst, the merging of the right wing into the far right is one of the biggest developments of the election. Zemmour hosting a rally last month at the Trocadero square – a symbolic place for Les Republicains – was no coincidence, Camus explained. His call to important figures from Les Republicains such as Eric Ciotti, Nadine Morano, and François Xavier Bellamy is a discreet invitation to join his campaign. If Zemmour continues to poll higher than Les Republicains candidate Valerie Pecresse, he will be in a position of strength to negotiate his main goal – the reconfiguration of France’s right-wing parties, More common ground than divisions Le Pen and Zemmour’s combined poll ratings – 24 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively – amount to an unprecedented more than 30 percent for the far right in France. The main elements behind the far-right surge to “pessimistic” and “declinist” attitudes in France. French people feel like their country has changed and lost its power. Moreover the November 2015 attacks on French soil by the ISIL (ISIS) group had played a large part in such feelings. Part of the population believe in the war against Islam, and view the Muslim community here as the enemy from within. Zemmour has capitalised on such sentiments, and he shares the view that Muslims in France are not able to culturally assimilate. The RN party – known up until 2018 as the National Front (FN) – has been around for some 40 years, and its views have spread from a fringe movement to mainstream French society. The far right are also more united than the various left parties.
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