As the French presidential election is drawing near, the far right is soaring in the polls. Marine Le Pen, the National Front candidate, is backed by around 20% of voters according to recent surveys. These impressive scores were never reached by her father, who nevertheless got as far as the second round in 2002 with 16,87% of the votes. She is now hot on Nicolas Sarkozy’s heels and some commentators fear that she may come out on top.

In a country battered by the economic crisis, populism is picking up momentum. The far-right is flourishing on a triple malaise - the dislocation of traditional identities caused by globalization, the fear of a drop in social status as the economic crisis unravels, and the frustration with politicians, perceived as corrupt and impotent.

However, the far right is not a homogenous movement. The term encompasses different political sensibilities. The National Front itself, for example, has been steered from die-hard economic liberalism to strong State-interventionism. Similarly, the traditional Catholic view upheld by the “old” National Front has been dampened by a divorced Marine Le Pen.

In this blog, we will try to guide you through the twists and turns of the new populism.