Right wing resurgence in the EU: "Take the German AfD seriously – or you'll end up like us in France": by Christophe Bourdoiseau

Marie le Pen of the FN party in France

For a long time France ignored the Front National – now it's the nation's strongest party. Germany should not repeat this mistake in its dealings with Nationalist  AfD party.

Frauke Petry, the ambitious leader of the nationalist Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), is already snapping at Angela Merkel’s heels.

When it comes to presidential elections in France, I haven't voted for a political progran 30 years. The whole time I've simply been voting against the Front National (FN). It's not a democratic act, it's resistance. It doesn't have to come to that with the AfD in Germany.

Over the past 20 years, reunified Germany has become a model for democracy and integration in Europe. The nation has changed in incredibly positive ways. The Germans are confident and popular again in the world. Their behaviour during the refugee crisis has been exemplary.

Now, the rise of this far-right party has become a threat to Germany's inner peace. The AfD may be compared with the FN in France: against the system, against Europe, against Islam.

Both offer formulas that question our democratic values and that will divide civil society. The AfD is not yet as strong as the FN in France.

That′s why, when it comes to dealing with right-wing extremists, German politicians should learn from French errors.

Firstly, the danger must be taken seriously. The first mistake France made was to ignore the FN. French politicians thought they could continue to govern without taking any notice of the FN. They thought the FN was not France.

For too long, the media also boycotted the FN – or more accurately: ignored the party without confronting its arguments with facts. For ages, people in France have been talking about the "lying media". Journalists are also coming under attack from militants who are convinced that the media are protecting mainstream parties.

The right-wing propaganda has worked. A consensus is being found in a mood that is anti-Islamic, anti-European and even anti-German. Even in the village in deepest France where I've always enjoyed talking to the friendly people in the summer holidays, 42 percent gave their vote to the FN. There are virtually no foreigners there.

The French discourse no longer revolves around "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite", but increasingly around the issue of security. The essential question is whether Islam belongs to our society; there is a serious debate going on today over whether the Muslims will replace "us" in the end. Where have we ended up?

To fight the right-wing extremists, French politicians repeatedly warned voters: help us to combat the FN – with your votes for us. Many politicians remained in power with this "anti-FN" strategy, although they were themselves the cause of the right-wing extremism. But what use is a vote "against the FN", if the same politicians are embroiled in affairs and make false promises?

The misguided approach to the FN has been making French democracy sick for 30 years. The mainstream parties are split and have lost their orientation. Most react in panic and try to copy the FN, to salvage what can still be salvaged.

Similarly, poking fun at the AfD is no solution. We tried that in France. The CDU experienced this in Saxony, claiming that the state was immune to right-wing extremism. I also heard that said in France. 20 years ago.

The CDU in Saxony is now harvesting the fruits of its blind politics, just as we are in France.

Fortunately, Germany's political system is still staffed with upstanding folk, but the tendency of some politicians towards a tougher stance on minorities shows that the failure of Saxony can be repeated elsewhere. Sections of the CSU are attempting to overtake the AfD on the right.

What a mistake! Voters don't want a copy, they'll choose the original. This is exactly what happened in France. It will be exactly the same in Germany. By pursuing such a strategy, the C-parties will be split.

German politicians must stay on course. They should provide arguments in favour of the constitutional state and democracy and show no understanding when it comes to the right wing. In France people used to say that the FN was asking good questions, but not coming up with any good solutions.

Now, the French view the FN as a genuine alternative. Over the past 20 years, I have seen the constitutional state on the gradual retreat in France.

It's almost like the old days in East Germany: expatriation as a weapon for greater security. Which politician seriously believes that this can stop the terrorists? A policy agreed by a left-wing government to entice voters away from the FN.

But in the end, the FN will win again. In the 2014 European elections, it was the strongest party in France capturing almost 25 percent of the vote. In the 2017 presidential election, it could emerge as the strongest force before the run-off ballot.

 And again, I will vote for a candidate whom I would not normally choose to put up resistance "against the FN". For how much longer?

Read more: Take the AfD seriously – or you'll end up like us

France- FN founder Jean-Marie Le Pen suspended from far-right party

Eighty-six-year-old Jean-Marie Le Pen may also be stripped of his title as the FN’s honorary president after he last month repeated his view that the Nazi gas chambers were a mere “detail” in history, deepening a rift with his daughter, party leader Marine Le Pen.

A statement said  that a special meeting of party members would be called "within three months" to decide if he should also lose the honorary status.

Le Pen responded furiously to the measures, saying it was a “criminal act”.

The veteran politician had on Monday been summoned to a disciplinary hearing at the headquarters in Nanterre, just west of Paris, but stubbornly refused to attend, calling it “detrimental” to his dignity. He also said he had no plans to retire from politics or tone down his opinions.

The hearing had been called by his daughter, who took the reins as FN party leader in 2011 and who has become increasingly frustrated in recent months by her father’s controversial remarks, calling them “political suicide”.


Read more: Europe - FN founder Jean-Marie Le Pen suspended from far-right party - France 24

France: Jean-Marie Le Pen allegedly hid millions in money and gold in secret Swiss account

While Le Pen has been known to make headlines in France for his provocative, if not outright racist or anti-Semitic remarks, this time it’s for possible fiscal fraud.

The 2.2 million euros, 1.7 million of which was in gold bullion and coins, was originally placed in a trust with the Swiss branch of the bank HSBC, French investigative website Mediapart revealed on Monday.

In May 2014, the money was transferred to another Swiss bank, the Compagnie Bancaire Helvétique (CBH), in the Bahamas via a trust handled by Le Pen’s personal assistant, Gérald Gérin, Mediapart reported.

Meanwhile, Le Pen’s financial dealings apparently caught the attention of France’s anti-fraud and money laundering agency Tracfin, which alerted the prosecutor’s office in Nanterre, just west of Paris, to the situation in late 2013, Mediapart reported. Around the same time, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a separate, preliminary investigation into Le Pen’s assets.

The scandal comes as the FN faces serious questions over its funding. In November 2014, the party confirmed reports that it had borrowed nine million euros from the Moscow-based First Czech Russian Bank (FRCB) because it was struggling to find lenders in France.

More recently, the FN came under scrutiny last month after the European Parliament informed the European Anti-Fraud Office of suspected irregularities regarding the FN’s use of funds intended to pay the salaries of EU parliamentary assistants.

Read more: france 24 - Jean-Marie Le Pen allegedly hid millions in money and gold in secret Swiss account - France 24

France Elections: Black Sunday for France's Socialists as far-right breaks through - by Angus MacKinnon

France's ruling Socialist Party suffered humiliating losses Sunday in a local vote marked by breakthrough successes for the far-right National Front and the historic election of a first female mayor of Paris.

On a day dubbed "Black Sunday" by one Socialist lawmaker, the National Front (FN) won control of at least eight towns and was on track to claim 1,200 municipal council seats nationwide, its best ever showing at the grassroots level of French politics.

It was also a night to savour for France's main opposition, the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

The party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy performed strongly across the country, seizing control of a string of towns and cities, including some once considered bastions of the left.

In a rare consolation for President Francois Hollande's party, the Socialists held on to control of Paris, where Anne Hidalgo, 54, will become the first female mayor of the French capital after a victory that was far more comfortable than anyone had expected.

But Limoges, a town that had been run by the left for 102 years, fell to the UMP, as did Toulouse, the Champagne capital Reims and Saint Etienne, as well as dozens of other smaller urban centers.

Read more: Black Sunday for France's Socialists as far-right breaks through - Yahoo News