Hopefully ‘la peste blonde’ is not infectious

For those of you who are not bombarded with French political news every waking moment, the National Front are a political party who hold very similar views to those of the BNP. There is, however, one startling difference between them: popularity.

Nick Griffin is Marmite personified. You either believe him to be the second coming or a lunatic who shouldn’t be trusted with oxygen let alone votes. Thankfully, the good British public for the most part believe the latter. The French equivalent Marine Le Pen, however, has recently beaten Sarkozy in the opinion polls. An extremist government is terrifyingly close for a country whose trembling foundations were built upon freedom, equality and brotherhood.

Marine’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was the leader of the FN up until last year when, at 82, he decided to hand over the reins. He has been quoted as saying that the Nazi occupation of France “wasn’t all that inhuman,” that the gas chambers were just a “detail” and that anyone with AIDS was “a kind of leper”. He even called Hitler “Uncle Dolfie”. France breathed a sigh of relief when Marie steered the party away from anti-Semitism, but they should not hold their breath, for Islam is their next target.

In an interview with the New York Times, Marine stated that ‘seeing Muslims praying on the streets of France is worse than being under Nazi occupation’. This exact occupation was nicknamed ‘la peste brune’ after the colour of the Nazi uniform. The black plague was known as ‘la peste noir’ , and Marine’s new nickname is ‘la peste blonde’, so how is it that by March this year she could be the most powerful woman in France? After all, in a recent survey 55 per cent of French voters hope she gains the 500 signatures needed to run for presidency.

It’s both simple and perplexing. The heart of their manifesto is national interest. Le Pen wants to quit the Euro immediately. She does not see why the French population should pay for the financial stupidity of other nations, and some may say she has a valid point. However, to suggest that the hundreds of thousands of Greek citizens who have no electricity and barely enough food should pay for the greed of their government and banks proves that she has no heart.

Her most popular idea has been to drop the retirement age to 60. Understandably the French public want to reap the rewards of their hard taxpaying years before they’re too old to do so. Yet with an ever-growing population and advances of modern medicine, there are twice as many people living twice as long. So how is this plan to be made viable? By sending immigrants, asylum seekers and political refugees back to their own often war torn countries.

John Donne once wrote: ‘No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main’. Ignoring all geographical implications, Le Pen should take heed of this lesson. While her voters may think that France should just take care of herself, I hope they will wake up and realise they have a global responsibility to face.

That the same country that resisted and survived the darkest period of Western history with their pride and language still intact should perpetuate such reckless individualism is saddening, or perhaps it’s just a testament to today’s world. The French culture is alluring, rich and diverse. Brits flock there in their thousands each year for getaways and to permanently set up home.

Even though we invented it, their two-fingered salute approach to life is remarkably refreshing in comparison to the constant British political correctness. Their national pride is at the heart of all ridiculous stereotypes and indeed the very essence of French culture, and they do have a lot to be proud of.

There is, however, a very fine line between national pride and racism, and until the votes come back in March this year I fear the French public will be tip-toeing along it. I hope they fall on the side of reason and not extremism.