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Who are the members of the French National Front? Evidence from interview research

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French Politics Aims and scope

Abstract

The Front national (FN), which embraces populism, cultural monism and anti-immigration sentiments, but eschews violence and operates within the borders of legal frameworks, has averaged more than 10 per cent of the popular vote in French local, regional and national elections over the past 30 years. While previous research has extensively captured the historical development and the structural determinants of its success, as well as that of its European sister parties, there is still a relative dearth of scholarship focusing on the activists of radical right-wing groups. I will add to these few existing studies by analyzing the FN’s members. On the basis of interview research with 44 FN activists, I find that individuals who are involved in this populist right-wing party come from diverse social and economic backgrounds and have different types of political socialization. What unites them is their high degree of motivation, their political values (for example, nationalism, anti-immigration), their personal beliefs (for example, the belief in authority and other traditional values) and the fact that they feel at ease within the FN.

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Notes

  1. The Front National took political power in Marignane, Toulon and Orange (Perrineau, 1997, p. 82).

  2. In a partial election in February, Catherine Mégret also won 52.5 per cent of the vote to become mayor of Vitrolles (Williams, 2006, p. 88).

  3. For instance, she continues to campaign with slogans such as ‘Marine Le Pen: The Voice of the People, The Spirit of France’ (FN, 2013).

  4. I also asked the departmental secretaries about the composition of local FN members to gain some more general information on the members of this populist party.

  5. Simon is another example of family socialization. He states, ‘my engagement has a long family tradition; since the war in Vendée in the 1790s, my ancestors have fought on the side of reactionary forces. Out of family loyalty I continue this fight’ (Interview 35).

  6. According to Stéphan, ‘the institutions of the Fifth Republic suit us. The president can build a strong relationship with the people, he can become like a king of the people, a real leader’ (Interview 37).

  7. Lucie, a middle-aged member of the FN, expresses this anti-immigrant sentiment even more vigorously. ‘We have an overpopulation of immigrants. There are too many foreigners that come and impose their culture and their way of living in France. Colored people, who come from who knows where, aggress us every minute. You cannot walk through the street quietly any more’ (Interview 42).

  8. This feature is quite astonishing given that the FN has a very hierarchical structure, which is modeled after communist parties.

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  1. School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada

    Daniel Stockemer

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Stockemer, D. Who are the members of the French National Front? Evidence from interview research. Fr Polit 12, 36–58 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/fp.2014.1

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