A fascist spectre is haunting France

Already a third of France has taken the plunge.

Everyone is up in arms because the far right National Rally party, led by Marine Le Pen, has got a third of the vote in the French parliamentary elections. “Aux armes, citoyens,” is how they put it. But I don’t entirely understand why. Some personal potted French history may help to clarify it in my mind. Do join me, you may be able to help.

When I was a fourteen-year-old on a French exchange, we would visit châteaux every weekend in the family Renault Dauphine. Always monsieur and madame in the front with fille, fils and moi in the back. Since the French take their driving very seriously, silence mostly reined apart from me practicing my French. Like, “Qui est Poujade?” because we were constantly passing flyposters announcing ‘Poujade avait raison’ with a picture of a chap looking back at us in a kindly sort of way. In Britain he would be selling slightly hooky consumer durables.

My question produced more silence, a grunt and eventually, “Someone of no importance.” It clearly embarrassed them so I decided not to enquire why, then, was he everywhere? Later I discovered Poujade was a far right politician and Poujadism disappeared when the not as far right-wing party, the Rally for France, guided our neighbours into the golden uplands of social stability. Like what we’ve got.

We motor on fifty years and another far right party, the National Front under Jean-Marie Le Pen, has achieved some…