06/30/2024

Flashes of Antisemitism and Racism Persist in In France’s Rebranded Far Right

Many question whether the party of Marine Le Pen has truly evolved

French nationalist Marine Le Pen has executed one of the most extraordinary political rebrandings in the Western world. She has transformed the fringe neofascist party founded by her father into a mainstream political force with a shot at winning a majority and naming the next prime minister of France.

But as she and her deputy, Jordan Bardella, stand on the brink of what could be their greatest electoral triumph, innuendo, conspiracies and vitriol from National Rally candidates and supporters are amplifying doubts about how much a movement originally rooted in antisemitism and racism has truly evolved.

One candidate competing in the first round of the legislative assembly elections on Sunday suggested that a rival party was financed by Jews. Another claimed that some civilizations remain “below bestiality in the chain of evolution.” Yet another blamed a bedbug infestation in France on "the massive arrival from all the countries of Africa." One more regularly pays tribute to the man who led the Nazi collaborators in World War II-era Vichy France.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.