INTERVIEW WITH FRENCH FAR RIGHT POLITICIAN MARIE LE PEN - Her National Front party made great strides in recent EU elections

Interview by Mathieu von Rohr, Spiegel

Part 1 of the interview - excerpts

 

Marie Le Pen

SPIEGEL: Ms. Le Pen, having won 25 percent of the French vote, your Front National party stands as one of the primary beneficiaries of the May 25 European Parliament election. How could such a thing come to pass?

 

Le Pen:  The French want to regain control of their own country. They want to determine the course of their own economy and their immigration policies. They want their own laws to take precedence over those of the European Union. The French have understood that the EU does not live up to the utopia they were sold. It has distanced itself significantly from a democratic mode of operation.

FASCIST IDEOLOGY IS POPULAR IN EUROPE ONCE AGAIN - The pendulum swings dangerously back after failure of the economy, multiculturalism and EU bureaucracy - See description of main European far right parties

By Alex Brummer, Daily Mail

 

Chilling reminders of the 1930s

March of the Far Right: Across Europe, failing economies, mass immigration and contempt for politicians has fuelled support for nationalist parties which make Britain's Ukip look moderate.

 

The elections to the  European Parliament taking place across the Continent this week are being played out against the most disturbing economic backdrop since the dark days of the post-crash Thirties.  This is the first time since the eurozone crisis erupted in Greece in 2010 that Europe’s people have had the chance  to make their views known in an EU-wide election, and the outcome will not  be pretty.