Fascism comes to France
Like a rotting disease, the tendrils of fascism that have been stretching across the world have come at last to France. Eighty four years ago France was invaded by a tyrannical, fascist despot named Adolf Hitler. Today they are taking a dangerous step in Hitler’s direction. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party has secured the lion’s share of votes in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections.
After the first round of voting on Sunday, National Rally had a strong lead at 33.14%. That was followed by the left-wing’s New Popular Front coalition at 27.99%. That left Ensemble, which includes President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, trailing behind at 20.76%.
France has what’s known as a semi-presidential system, where a prime minister is elected separately from the president. This current vote will decide the prime minister. Macron was re-elected president in an earlier vote. Le Pen’s 28-year-old protégé and party leader Jordan Bardella enjoys a comfortable lead in the contest for prime minister. If he wins on July 7, it will be only the third time in France’s history that the president and prime minister were members of different parties.
This new coalition of parties has an eerie resemblance to Germany in 1933. Germany’s 84 year old president Paul Von Hindenburg was compelled to appoint Hitler as the Reichskanzler, an office similar to that of prime minister. Hitler leveraged that office to later gain the presidency after Hindenburg’s death, then slowly consolidated power until he became Germany’s absolute dictator.
Le Pen’s National Rally party is principally an anti-immigration party. From the beginning she has exploited the inherent xenophobia of the rising tide of worldwide fascism and bigotry. Her party has nearly doubled its vote in two years, becoming the dominant party in France.
For centuries the rich and powerful have exploited hatred of foreigners as a trick to redirect blame for their own part in contemporary economic hardship. Today’s climate of worldwide inflation is ideal for promoting unrest across Europe and America, and French fascists and MAGA Republicans alike have been quick to sound the xenophobic alarm as a trick to gain power.
The worldwide trend toward fascism isn’t just ultimately bad for all nations and their people, it’s bad for the environment. These days fascistic regimes are automatically climate change deniers. As fascism takes its ugly grip on the world, the prospect for solving the world’s climate crisis grows dimmer and dimmer. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe. Donate to Palmer Report
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.