The French National Front: A Comparison between Elected Officials' Assessments of Popular Support for the French National Front and Public Opinion Polls

Abstract

Many studies on right-wing extremist parties have focused on socio-economic and structural factors to determine why citizens vote for the extreme right. However, no analysis has yet solicited the opinions of elected officials of non-far-rightist parties on relevant factors related to support for extremist parties. Based on a survey of 30 members of the National Assembly, the Senate and the European Parliament, this paper engages in this quest and compares politicians' opinions on indicators such as a (perceived) loss of French national identity, immigration and variables related to the presence of foreigners such as crime and unemployment, with those of the general public. This research goal is to find out whether there are discrepancies between elected politicians of non-rightist parties and the general public. The results highlight some contradictions. Politicians perceive, on average, a loss of national identity as the least important indicator and illegal immigration as the most pressing factor for why people turn to the FN. This is at odds with the perception of the general public, who, unlike politicians, identify a loss of national identity as critical.