It would appear that the collusion between the left and the pseudo-right, i.e. left, has been successful, as the party of Marine Le Pen was shut out of regional elections this weekend in France. The tactical alliance between ostensible conservatives and socialists-unironically described as a democratic safety valve by Time Magazine-effectively guaranteed that the Front National will not govern a single region of France before the next presidential election takes place. However, this defeat does have an under appreciated silver lining, which the reliably liberal English broadsheet The Independent picked up on. Namely, the political eclipse of François Hollande’s conservative opposition, and its replacement by the FN as France’s natural opposition party.
Whether Marine Le Pen’s party will inherit this role, or this election will simply result in the deposition of Nicolas Sarkozy as the standard bearer for the UMP, remains to be seen. However, the fact that it is even being broached is an indication of how dissatisfied the French public is with the status quo. The tolerance of European nations for leaders who want to turn their countries into hostels for the third world appears to be reaching its limits.
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