"In 1997, nearly half of French people saw Le Pen's ideas as unacceptable; now only a third do. His popularity speaks much about the continued disillusionment with the political leadership within French society."
MANY French voters thought he was down and out. But 78-year-old Jean-Marie Le Pen, France's far-right presidential candidate, has bounced off the ropes and is back in the ring. He will be running for president for the fifth time next month. The blustering founder of the French National Front says he is sure to win in the run-off vote on May 6. And his opponents are treating his return as more than a well-worn performance by an old entertainer.
Voters will be summoned to the polls on Sunday, April 22. If, as usual, no candidate wins 50% or more of the vote, the election goes to a second round between the two leading candidates.
Le Pen confounded the forecasters in the 2002 election to the Elysée Palace, when he beat the socialist, Lionel Jospin, into second place in the first round of voting.
Socialists belatedly took fright and, to head off Le Pen, reluctantly cast their ballots for the incumbent, Jacques Chirac, in the run-off.
But this spring Chirac will not be part of the electoral equation. He has bowed out of the Elysee, blowing kisses to “the France I love”.
Tub thumper Le Pen has sickened many potential supporters by his record of racist utterances.
He belittled the Nazi gas chambers as a “detail of history” and Germany’s wartime occupation of France as “relatively humane”.
And he denounced France’s national soccer team for including too many black players.
But, apart from his nauseating racism, his programme elicits widespread sympathy.
Le Pen wants to restrict immigration, opposes the European Union and rails against France’s high unemployment.
Full story: France: Encore for old soldier Le Pen
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