I read the article twice. Where is the evidence that Marine is an anti-Semite? Or do you subscribe to the idea that a daughter is responsible for her father’s sins? To assert that the purge of the anti-Semites in the party is a political ploy is not supported by the information presented in the article, apart from the author’s opinion. That seems cynical.
Similarly, wanting to reign in Islamic enclaves in a nation which is beset by Jihad inspired terrorism is not racist.
I fully acknowledge that apart from this article I know very little about French politics, and evidence of Marine’s racism might be out there. But the article hasn’t made the case for it.
Apart from these criticisms, it is an interesting article. Thanks.
I agree, it bothered me how this basically gave a history of a far right party becoming increasingly moderate in both rhetoric and policy proposals but then coming to the conclusion that it would be a disaster anyway. It seems like a kind of reflexive disgust based on a feeling of contagion. If it was a more traditional Christian Democratic party espousing these kinds of views, would the author have come to the same conclusion?
That being said, having read some research into the political opinions of the French, I increasingly feel I can't quite grasp what's going on there. It shares some trends consistent with other western democracies, but it's not a 1/1 map to something like the US. Cluster analysis shows that both countries have large disaffected groups that mostly abstain from the political process but can be drawn into it sometimes.(The yellow vests being one manifestation of this). There are other things that are more curious though. About 10% of the French population are basically optimistic, socially connected, entrepreneurial, and think things are going great in their country. There's a "woke" group within french society that seems slightly larger than it's counterpart in the US, but they also are considerably more pessimistic, believing themselves to be fighting a losing battle.
If anyone is curious or wants to read more, check out more in common's report on public opinion in France-
I read the article twice. Where is the evidence that Marine is an anti-Semite? Or do you subscribe to the idea that a daughter is responsible for her father’s sins? To assert that the purge of the anti-Semites in the party is a political ploy is not supported by the information presented in the article, apart from the author’s opinion. That seems cynical.
Similarly, wanting to reign in Islamic enclaves in a nation which is beset by Jihad inspired terrorism is not racist.
I fully acknowledge that apart from this article I know very little about French politics, and evidence of Marine’s racism might be out there. But the article hasn’t made the case for it.
Apart from these criticisms, it is an interesting article. Thanks.
I agree, it bothered me how this basically gave a history of a far right party becoming increasingly moderate in both rhetoric and policy proposals but then coming to the conclusion that it would be a disaster anyway. It seems like a kind of reflexive disgust based on a feeling of contagion. If it was a more traditional Christian Democratic party espousing these kinds of views, would the author have come to the same conclusion?
That being said, having read some research into the political opinions of the French, I increasingly feel I can't quite grasp what's going on there. It shares some trends consistent with other western democracies, but it's not a 1/1 map to something like the US. Cluster analysis shows that both countries have large disaffected groups that mostly abstain from the political process but can be drawn into it sometimes.(The yellow vests being one manifestation of this). There are other things that are more curious though. About 10% of the French population are basically optimistic, socially connected, entrepreneurial, and think things are going great in their country. There's a "woke" group within french society that seems slightly larger than it's counterpart in the US, but they also are considerably more pessimistic, believing themselves to be fighting a losing battle.
If anyone is curious or wants to read more, check out more in common's report on public opinion in France-
https://www.moreincommon.com/media/krjchzr5/finding-france-executive-summary.pdf
This sounds like democracy to me. Messy, impure intentions perhaps, but legitimate concerns underlying them.
"Ça ne peut pas arriver ici" - famous last merdes.
So... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree? Politically pro-gay but still viscerally anti-Semitic?