By: Faisal Quyyumi, contributing intern (@_faisalquyyumi) France consists of several different political parties, but thoroughly functioned through the nation’s most popular parties such as the Republicans (mainstream right), National Front (far right), Democratic Movement (center ground), and the Socialist Party (mainstream left). After the results from last weeks’ polls, the National Front were favored to sweep the nation once again. They had previously received the most votes in six of the nation’s thirteen regions. The effects of the recent November 13th terrorist attacks, helped presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and her National Front Party gain tremendous momentum as they continue to stand firmly on refusing immigrants. Over the past few months the centermost party, consisting of pro-European members, has slowly began to fade and the country has now been divided into three major parties: left, right, and nationalist. Recently, political scientist Nicolas Lebourg voiced his opinions stating that the National Front “endangers French democracy” (The New York Times)”. After basking in glory for the past week, the National Front was in for a surprise on December 13th. The poll results from Sunday were a shock for the entire nation. It was a daring and bold procedure taken by the Socialist Party, which is currently in control of the nation under President François Hollande. The Socialist Party decided to withdraw its presidential candidates, which would leave the field open only for the mainstream conservatives and the far-right conservatives. In return, the Party hoped that voters across the nation would decide to elect candidates from the mainstream Republican Party (Les Républicains), which is exactly what happened. The far-right National Front party fell short and didn’t emerge victorious in any of the country’s regions. They even lost in the northern region of France and Nice, where Ms. Le Pen was expected to win effortlessly. The centre-right Republican Party won in seven regions as opposed to the Socialists who won in five regions in support of a re-election for President Hollande in 2017. Compared to the 22.6 million individuals who voted last week, there was an almost sixteen-percent increase in attendance as 26.2 people voted in the most recent ballots. After the results were released, Le Pen was quick to strike back stating that her party fell victim to “calumny and defamation.” Just as much as it may be a disappointing loss for the National Front, it also is the perfect opportunity for the extremely conservative party to emerge. With a country suffering from unemployment and multiple terrorist attacks throughout the year, a wave of conservatism might just be what the heartbroken citizens of France need in order to properly establish themselves as an intact nation.
