Jean-Marie Le Pen's breakthrough in the French presidential elections is a slap in the face for mainstream French political parties, as well as a stark warning of the drawbacks of the constitution of the Fifth French Republic. But the lessons of Le Pen's rise go beyond the specifics of French politics, because far-right parties have been on the march in many European countries of late, from Austria to Portugal, from Italy to Denmark.
Jean-Marie Le Pen's breakthrough in the French presidential elections is a slap in the face for mainstream French political parties, as well as a stark warning of the drawbacks of the constitution of the Fifth French Republic. But the lessons of Le Pen's rise go beyond the specifics of French politics, because far-right parties have been on the march in many European countries of late, from Austria to Portugal, from Italy to Denmark.