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November 09, 2005
Reclaiming France
In June, after the EU constitution met its demise at the hands of France's "red state" regions, John Hinderaker offered a friend's analysis of France's own red state/blue state map, which concluded that "most of the 'OUI' vote was the elite, transnational, wealthier urban areas, plus Brittany, etc. with its own agenda. The 'NON' areas were rural/industrial socialist/anti-globalists. In addition to the economic motivation I would guess that the 'NON' areas, especially the northeast and Marseilles, included a large anti-immigrant, specifically anti-Muslim vote." Hinderaker himself concluded gloomily that "there really isn't much of a movement in Europe that corresponds to American conservatism." This was, and is probably true. But with France's own demise now measured (and charitably so) by reference to how many hundreds of cars are torched each night, there are indications France's National Front party - its deep red conservative party - may be rallying. The "flashpoints" of violence outside of Paris paint a complicated picture, but if Le Pen and French nativism are indeed gathering steam, France's future may hold some promise.
Posted by bill at November 9, 2005 08:37 PM
