Closing the Gap? A Comparison of Voters for Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties and Mainstream Parties over Time

Abstract

This chapter examines the development of the Front National (FN) in the French party system since the early 2000s and asks whether the party is moving into the mainstream. It looks at the extent to which the party has changed as a radical, niche, and anti-establishment party, and examines the extent to which it has shed its extremist reputation. The chapter then turns to party goals and strategies of de-demonisation, considering also internal and contextual stimuli for the current transformation of the FN, and its consequences. De-demonisation is primarily a short-term vote-maximizing strategy, which seeks to address important institutional and party system challenges. The French National Front is commonly considered a model for the West European radical right. Eurosceptic positions are characteristic of the FN and populism increased significantly in its 2012 manifesto. As party leader, Marine Le Pen has been seeking to address the FN's credibility deficit.