Name: Jean Marie Le Pen
Age: 73 years
Nationality: French
Claim to fame: Unexpected far-right gains

JEAN Marie Le Pen shocked Europe and the wider world, with his surprise victory in the first round of the French presidential elections held on April 22. He took in 17.06 per cent of the vote, knocking out the popular socialist candidate, and former prime minister Lionel Jospin. Incumbent President Jacques Chirac barely edged out Le Pen with a 19.70 per cent share of the vote. The second round of elections on May 5 will be the first in 30 years to feature two right-wing candidates.

Le Pen’s reputation as a racist and fascist makes his success a great embarrassment for France. Le Pen has a long history of controversial alliances and inflammatory statements. When he was a student, Le Pen was a great admirer of Marshal Petain, the president of the Nazi-backed Vichy government during World War II.

Upon entering political life during the 1950s, he was quickly identified as a Poujadist, a member of the extreme right. He served as a deputy in the French National Assembly during this period. He fought against the anti-colonialists in Algeria, and remained active in far-right politics throughout the 1960s.

In 1972, he helped found the National Front, an extreme-right party. He gained notoriety during the 1980s for a series of anti-semitic comments. For instance, he is famous for calling the Holocaust a “detail” of history. In 1988, he openly declared that he believed in the “inequality of races”.

His latest presidential campaign marks his fourth, and probably the final attempt to gain France’s highest office. He is often described as a straight laced, sober character, and is called the ‘little man’ by his supporters. He is strongly supported by the police and military. He describes himself as “socially on the left, economically on the right, and nationally for France”.

Le Pen’s recent success has provoked several huge demonstrations throughout France and Europe. On April 28, in Paris, 150,000 people marched in protest against his policies. Le Pen has come under fire for being anti-semitic, anti-Arab and anti-immigrant. He has proposed the creation of 200 prisons, and the forced expulsion of immigrants who, he claims, are stealing jobs from French citizens.

He believes in status and political distinctions between the true (white) French and false French (non-white). His National Front is widely regarded as Europe’s largest, politically viable Nazi party. Le Pen is also vehemently opposed to the European Union, and want to remove the Euro from France. He is also openly anti-American, and anti-Israel.

In the light of his success, parties across the board have pledged support to President Chirac, who is now expected to trounce Le Pen with an 80-20 split on May 5.