Abstract:
The impressive result obtained by Marine Le Pen in the 2012 presidential
elections has raised many questions regarding her ability to break the
glass ceiling which many had thought unreachable for the Front National
(FN). For some, this progression in the polls was a consequence of the
softening of the discourse of the party and Le Pen moving away from her
father’s more radical stance. However, the fact that this rise came
after five years of Sarkozist presidency should not be underestimated,
and the context following Sarkozy’s 2007 election can be seen as partly
responsible for the FN reaching new heights. What this article will
argue is that the new status acquired by the FN in 2012 was dramatically
facilitated by the campaign by the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire
(UMP), which continued the legitimisation of the Le Pens’ party rhetoric
and allowed it to enter the selective category of respectable,
‘democratic’ and ‘republican’ parties. To highlight this development,
this article will focus on three themes: the exaggerated state of
crisis, the use of populism and the vilification of Islam through the
use of neo-racist rhetoric by both the UMP and the FN.
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