France's Far-Right FN Party Tops Polls ahead of EU Elections

Marine Le Pen, leader of the 'Front National'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A new opinion poll says that France's National Front party could be set for a major electoral breakthrough in next May´s elections to the European Parliament

A poll by Ifop for the French newspaper, Le Nouvel Observateur, found that 24 per cent of those asked said they will vote for the party, which stands on an anti-immigration and anti-Muslim platform.

The centre-right UMP, the party of former French President Nicolas Sarzoky, managed 22 percent while the Socialists, political home to President Francois Hollande, came third with 19 percent.

The newspaper said the poll is "of course not a prediction. But it describes a new reality in French political life. The FN is changing in nature. Its place is not longer at the margins of the political game but at the centre."

FN, led by controversial Marine Le Pen, daughter of the veteran politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, won a record 18 percent of the vote in last year's French presidential election.

Almost one in five women and nearly 25 percent of 18-24 year olds voted for the party, a record high for the FN. » | Martin Banks, Brussels | Thursday, October 10, 2013