The "Real" Reason the Far Right Won in France

It’s the economy, stupid:

“Many French are fed up with politicians. They are now fed up with endless controversies,” said Patrice Dabos, a researcher at the Institut de Recherche Supérieur de l’Ecole Militaire in Paris. In other words: There isn’t just one reason for rise of xenophobic politics in France.

Young people might be among those fed up: With sky-high youth unemployment, more young people voted for the National Front than for any other party Sunday.

The success of France’s far right is the result of years of political and economic stagnation in a country that still perceives itself as a heavyweight in international politics. The country’s military may have prevented a genocide in the Central African Republic fairly recently — but closer to home, competing with economic world power Germany has proven to be a much harder challenge for Socialist President Francois Hollande.

It does seem unlikely that the Paris attack is the only reason for the National Front’s rise, although it seems a bit curious that the Washington Post is eager to dismiss it so completely. Reporter Rick Noack even added this with seeming approval:

Speaking about Hollande’s recent reaction to the Paris attacks, Olivier de France, research director at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, said: “Francois Hollande in my mind has been able to navigate the public’s concerns very well. He is tapping all the good will he can tap in the current context, and rightly so.”

Get that? It must be the economy because the research director at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs says the French public believes that Hollande is doing everything right against ISIS.

Oh really?

I would remind you instead that while France’s National Front has been a growing political force for years, it hasn’t been able to score a win like yesterday’s until after the Paris attacks.

But do go on and tell us stupids how it’s the economy.

It isn’t just the American Left which has its fingers in its ears and its head in the sand and its ass in the air regarding the Islamist terror threat.