"you Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," Marine Le Pen Launches Her Presidential Campaign.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/marine-le-pen-front-national-speech-campaign-launch-islamic-fundamentalism-french-elections-a7564051.html

Interesting to note however that she is winning France's 'Gay' vote.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/01/how-marine-le-pen-is-winning-frances-gay-vote/

[andy-hughes]

Taking a leaf out of President Trump's book, Mme Le Pen realises that whipping up extreme right-wing patriotism with unfulfillable promises concerning terrorism and nationality is likely to get her elected.

We must hope that if she is elected, she has more of a grasp of the realities of world and domestic politics - in fact politics in general, than her U.S. counterpart.

[mikey4444]

This woman is just the same old, same old. Whipping up racist hatred and xenophobia, under the guise of patriotism. We have seen it all before.

[vortex]

Compulsive Believer Syndrome may well be catching!

Seriously, if she is elected, like DT, she must be given time to prove her salt.

[Old_Geezer]

Governments (and other authorities) ignoring the desires of the public, is leading to more extreme nationalist leaders. And the past/present governments have only themselves to blame. The pendulum sorely needed to swing in that direction, but when delayed it inevitably swings too far with all associated risk that comes with it. We see this sort over overcompensation all the time in various areas.

[mikey4444]

Vortex....if she is elected, lets hope hope she is rather better at hitting the ground running than Trump, who has made a complete dogs breakfast of his first few weeks.

[douglas9401]

Luckily, free speech isn't the sole preserve of the ultra-inclusive.

[vortex]

Mikey - wisdom comes with time ;-)

[Khandro]

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Let us hope, for the sake of France (and Europe) she gets elected before the demise of President Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia who is on his last legs, when he has gone, all hell will break loose as the Muslim Brotherhood grabs power, leading to the flight of millions of refugees into France.

[vortex]

Old Geezer - I agree with that to a point but I think figures like Trump, Putin, etc are naturally strong-willed, powerful personalities anyway who would let nothing stop in their way without a fight.

[mikey4444]

Vortex...maybe I am old fashioned but I would like to think that any political Leader had a modicum of wisdom, and common sense, right from the start. Trump has shown no indication of having either !

[vortex]

Mikey, all leaders go on learning. They have advisors who impart their wisdom too.

Although this thread is not about Putin for example, DT has said he doesn't know him well.

Same goes for Le Pen, she can't possibly know it all and would be foolish to railroad her way through if elected.

[ichkeria]

The Front have toned down a lot of their policies in a desperate attempt to broaden their appeal. I can't see Mme le Pen (is she a madame?) winning though: France has a different electoral system to the US. A core vote was enough to see Trump through, but it is almost certainly not going to do it for her.
The other problem she's got is that, rather inconveniently for her, another "outsider" has joined the fray and at the moment looks like at least making the run-off. M Macron espouses none of the illiberal social policies of the right's Francois Fillon, which might well have sent a lot of people into the dubious bosom of the blonde haired one.
Interestingly, Assange apparently claims to have "dirt" on M Macron - surprise surprise.
Expect a dirty contest

[mikey4444]

Vortex....the difficulty with Trump is that he is such a bully, even when his own advisors tell him to back off, he takes no notice.

[vortex]

Le Pen will have to pull something out of the bag as it would seem that she will come up short in the run-off.

Strange things can happen though as we have seen several times...

[naomi24]

//Mikey - wisdom comes with time ;-)//

If only! Men in their 60s here prattle on about xenophobia and bigotry and racism and about how terrible it is that people they don’t like are gaining popularity, but they don’t have the sense to ask “Why?”

[ToraToraTora]

well at least mikey has learned not to dismiss her chances out of hand!

[ichkeria]

"Men in their 60s here prattle on about xenophobia and bigotry and racism and about how terrible it is that people they don’t like are gaining popularity, but they don’t have the sense to ask “Why?” "

meanwhile the rest of them are the ones actually doing the xenophobia and bigotry :-)

I see the FN wisely abstained form a "Right Wing conference" held in St Petersburg recently, sponsored by a Russian MP and featuring such luminaries as Nick Griffin and Jim Dowson. It is hard for Le pen, I admit, as she needs Russian cash to finance her campaign, but needs to steer well clear of the homophobia that comes with this sort of territory

[naomi24]

//meanwhile the rest of them are the ones actually doing the xenophobia and bigotry //

It went over your head too, Ichkeria.

[Khandro]

"The question is simple and cruel: will our children live in a free, independent, democratic country?" — Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Front party.

"Economic globalization, which rejects any limits, has weakened the immune system of the nation by dispossessing it of its constituent elements: borders, national currency, the authority of its laws in conducting economic affairs, and thus allowing another world to be born and grow: Islamic fundamentalism." — Marine Le Pen.

"Islamic fundamentalism instrumentalizes the principle of religious freedom in an attempt to impose patterns of thought that are clearly the opposite of ours. We do not want to live under the yoke or threat of Islamic fundamentalism." — Marine Le Pen.

"Globalism is based, as we see, on the negation of the values ​​on which France was built and on the principles in which the immense majority of French people still recognize themselves: the pre-eminence of the person and therefore its sacred character, individual freedom and therefore individual consent, national feeling and therefore national solidarity, equality of persons and therefore the refusal of situations of submission." — Marine Le Pen.

"Those who come to France are to accept France, not to transform it to the image of their country of origin. If they want to live at home, they should have stayed at home." — Marine Le Pen.

"In terms of terrorism, we do not intend to ask the French to get used to living with this horror. We will eradicate it here and abroad." — Marine Le Pen.

"Everyone agrees that the European Union is a failure. It did not deliver on any of its promises, particularly on prosperity and security.... That is why, if elected, I will announce a referendum within six months on remaining or exiting the European Union..." — Marine Le Pen.

"The old left-right debates have outlived their usefulness.... This divide is no longer between the left and the right, but between patriots and globalists." — Marine Le Pen.

[Canary42]

"Men in their 60s here prattle on "

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... best laugh ... ha ha ha ha ha ... I've had in ages ... ha ha ha ha ... thanks Naomi (but shouldn't it have been in jokes) . . . ha ha ha ha ha ha.