This article is about the French political party, not the WWII French resistance movement Front National
The Front National (National Front in English) is a right-wing political party in France, often classed as racist on account of its campaigning against immigrants. The party was founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972 and is generally considered to be of the far-right; Le Pen denies this qualification. It has an armed branch called Department of Protection-Security.
The political platform of the Front National is mainly focused on the control of immigration, the repatriation of illegal immigrants and the priority of French citizens over foreigners for access to jobs and social services: in a pamphlet delivered to all French electors in the 1995 presidential election (standardized pamphlets for all candidates were delivered in a single package to every elector), Jean-Marie Le Pen proposed the sending back of 3 million non-Europeans out of France, by humane and dignified means. [1]
Other main proposals include:
- greater independence from the European Union and other international organizations;
- the establishment of tariffs or other protectionistic measures against cheap imports threatening the local agriculture or industry;
- a return to more traditional values
- in the family area: making abortion more difficult or even illegal; paying parents (mainly mothers) who raise children; refusing gay culture;
- in the cultural area: refusing "aberrant" modern art and promoting local traditional culture.
Front National has been elected into office in a few towns, which have typically been plagued by unemployment and tension between local people and immigrants. The party has tended to cut back on social services for immigrants as well as cultural activities deemed anti-family or multi-cultural. Spending has been redirected to the police and the utilitites to promote order and efficiency.
In Orange the Front National cut down on school material by 50%. In Vitrolles 150 employees were fired, but at the same time the police force was extended from 34 to 70 agents. During the election campaign members of the Department of Protection-Security shot and killed 17-year old Ibrahim Ali. In Vitrolles the party wanted to give 500 euro to each French baby born, but was unable to for constitutional reasons. In Vitrolles the director of the cinema was fired because he had shown a movie about homosexuality and AIDS.
