Front National (France)
The Front National (English: National Front) is a right-wing, nationalist French political party, that has been described as 'fascist and racist'.[1]
Contents
History
Founded in 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen, the Front National (FN) reportedly 'floundered on the margins till 1984 when it won seats in the European Parliament'.[1] Then in the 2002 presidential election, Le Pen made it into the presidential run-off, having beaten the socialist candidate in the first round, though he lost to Jacques Chirac.
In 2011, Marine Le Pen took over leadership of the party from her father.
Ideology
The FN 'strongly opposes the European Union, is authoritarian on law and order issues and seeks the return of the death penalty' and, as well as opposing immigration, has been described as 'Islamophobic' and 'antisemitic, despite its claims to have changed'.[1]
The British group Hope Not Hate notes that Jean-Marie Le Pen has convictions for dismissing the Holocaust as a 'mere detail' of the Second World War, for violence and for claiming the Nazi occupation was not 'particularly inhumane'. Meanwhile Marine Le Pen has compared what she calls the 'weekly illegal blocking of public streets and squares throughout France for Muslim prayers' with an occupation of parts of French territory.[1] She appeared in court in October 2015 on hate speech charges for this statement.
Funding
Funding fraud accusations
2015
In 2015, the FN's micro-party Jeanne was put under examination for electoral fraud. Jeanne and COTELEC are both satellite micro-parties created to financially support the main party during election campaigns. Although COTELEC remains under the control of now ousted Jean-Marie Le Pen, Jeanne still serves this purpose.
The micro-party operates by making campaign loans to individual candidates at 6.5% interest rates. With the loans is included the mandatory purchase of 'election kits', that comprise of an array posters, leaflets, and even campaign websites. The 'kits' are supplied by a company called Riwal and are sold at 16.650 euros each. The total amount charged by the micro-party was of 1.8 million euros in 2011 and of 9.6 million in 2012. [2] In 2015, the party charged its candidates 9.5 million euros, despite being under investigation. [3]
Juges criticized the mandatory character of this purchase, and accuse Riwal of overcharging for these kits, especially as the French state must reimburse all campaign costs if candidates win more than 5% of the vote. The president of the group and friend of Marine Le Pen, Frédéric Chatillon, was put under examination for illegal financing of a campaign, fraud and abuse of public goods, and his micro-party accused of fraud. [2]
Meanwhile, the company Riwal is suspected of:
- having done accounting and campaigning work for the party free of charge
- having given out loans without interests.
- having fictitiously employed two FN candidates during campaign times (legislative and presidential), Nicolas Bay and David Rachline, their salaries being disguises for campaign donations. [2]
All in all, the actors involved are accused of having put in place a fraudulent apparatus, gaining profit off the back of government funds. [3]
Marine Le Pen vividly denied all accusations of fraud. [2]
2016
In May 2016, a commission launched by the Commission nationale des comptes de campagne et des financements politiques (CNCCFP) -an organ in charge of surveilling campaign finances- reevaluated the party's reimbursement demand. They estimated that the 9.5 euro demand was excessive of 2.2 million euros, claiming that the micro-party Jeanne had again overcharged its products and services to candidates. [4]
On July 22nd 2016, the investigation over the suspected 2012 funding fraud was brought to completion. In its report, the floor demanded that FN treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just, vice-president Jean-François Jalkh, director of Riwal Frédéric Chatillon, his wife, Nicolas Crochet and current director of Jeanne Alex Loustau be put on trial for fraud and complicity in fraud. In that case the FN would also be put on trial for complicity to fraud, and Riwal and Jeanne for illegal campaign financing and fraud. [3]
Marine Le Pen still denied all of the charges filled against her party and supporters, and was not put under examination. [5]
People
- Jean-Marie Le Pen - founder and leader (1972-2011)
- Marine Le Pen - leader since 2011
Affiliations
Contact
- Website: frontnational.com
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hope Not Hate, Front National, Counterjihad Report: France, accessed 5 February 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Julien Licourt, 'Front national : le micro-parti Jeanne mis en examen', Le Figaro, 06 May 2015. Accessed 15 September 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Anon., - Financement des campagnes FN en 2012: le parquet demande un procès, L'Express, 22 July 2016. Accessed 15 September 2016.
- ↑ Anon., 'Les comptes de campagne du Front national épinglés', L'Express, 05 May 2016. Accessed 15 September 2016.
- ↑ Anon., Comptes de campagne : le parquet demande un procès pour le FN et deux de ses dirigeants], Le Monde, 23 July 2016. Accessed 15 September 2016.
