An Excellent Analysis of The Tea Party versus the Front National

I was going to take the day off since the sun finally came out after a week of gloomy weather but I just checked the blog Arun with a View and saw that he has an excellent post up about the Front National and  the Tea Party.  A really fine analysis and I strongly recommend you give Le Pen and America a read.

I confess that I was a little started by his conclusions at the end.  But, after a cup of coffee and some time in the garden, I concluded that he is basically correct.  It's a pattern of political participation (American party affiliation and political orientation translated to the French context) that I have seen among the long-term resident Americans I know here.

Regardless of the similarities and differences between the FN and Tea Party GOP—and I argue that there are more of the former than the latter—, I am quite sure that hardcore FN supporters, were they to move to the US, would find their natural home in the Tea Party GOP. And vice-versa. American Democrats living in France invariably end up supporting the Socialists and other currents on the moderate left (EELV, PRG), leftist Americans look to the left of the Socialists (PG, MRC, NPA), and mainstream, moderate Republicans the UMP or MoDem. I will wager that Tea Partiers who live in France and acculturate into French society will, in their majority, find an affinity with the FN...

Marine Le Pen in America

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right-wing French party, Le Front National, will cross the Atlantic for a five day tour of the United States. According to her agenda, she begins her pilgrimage in New York where she will meet with French-speaking diplomats and ambassadors at the United Nations and then she is scheduled to give a speech at the Republican Women's Club on 51st street.  Later in the week she will go south to Florida to meet with French expatriates there and possibly with members of the Democrat party.

Her voyage is not without controversy.  Clearly the purpose of the trip is to demonstrate that she has the stature to move in the international political and diplomatic realms.  A blog in the French paper, Le Figaro, is putting this spin on her trip to the U.S.:

Etrange initiative pour quelqu’un qui défend le "chacun chez soi", qui tonne régulièrement contre "l’impérialisme yankee" et qui vient de déclarer sa flamme à Vladimir Poutine, le tsar russe dont la politique autoritaire et centralisatrice est à l’opposé du modèle américain.

Strange initiative for someone who defends "each to his own home", who regularly cries out against "yankee imperialism" and who has just declared her fondness for Vladimir Putin, the Russian tsar whose authoritarianism and centralizing politics are at odd with the American model.

Point.  But he goes on to say that one purpose of her visit is to meet with Tea Party members - this strange grassroots Right-wing movement that is sort of under the wings of the Republican when it absolutely must declare party affiliation but is probably much broader than, and certainly at odds with, any establishment, Democrat or Republican.

And here I think Yves Thréard goes a bit too far.  Yes, she has tried to meet with representatives of the Tea Party but a quick look at her agenda shows that she is not confining her attentions to them in particular.  Perhaps there is an affinity between her philosophy and theirs but that certainly isn't stopping her from trying to meet with the more mainstream established parties as well.

Alas, we may never find out if the Front National can find common ground with the Tea Party or other political creatures in American because they do not seem terribly interested in meeting her.  According to The Telegraph, Ron Paul has cancelled a visit with her due to "scheduling problems."

And I think that is a shame for two reasons.  The first is that I find myself very disappointed in the Tea Party overall and Mr. Paul in particular, for their lack of courtesy.  Gentlemen, where are your manners? Call me old-fashioned but didn't your mothers teach you that when you make a date with a lady you have a certain obligation to show up even if you have already decided you'd rather dance with someone else?

And the second is the sheer lack of intellectual curiosity and courage displayed by my compatriots.  I am no fan of Marine Le Pen and her ilk.  When I go to the Front National website my reaction is visceral - some of their rhetoric literally makes my stomach hurt.  When confronted by politics that I strongly dislike and that threaten me and my family, my first impulse is to make the sign of the cross and say, "Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde, in nomine Dei..."  This is not only pointless, it is childish.  Their ability to provoke this reaction in me means that I need to listen twice as hard to what they have to say not only for my own protection but because maybe, just maybe, there is something in their message that I need to hear and might actually agree with. 

I doubt that the Tea Party and Le Pen will find much common ground but their decision to forgo a meeting deprives everyone (including them) of a chance to find out.  Whether their actions are based on fear ("guilt by association") or sheer ignorance, I cannot know, but I am convinced of this:  When you fear something it is your master.  And when you find your master, you have found a teacher.

Immigration and the French Far Right

I put this post off for several days.  Why?  Because, to be brutally honest, I don't like the French Far Right very much.  I don't like their grandiosity, anti-immigrant rhetoric and extravagant promises -  "simple" solutions meant to appeal to fearful people.  I don't believe for a moment that they have any interest in wielding power.  They are more of a political movement that seeks to influence the major parties.  To that end they are succeeding remarkably well.

I realized long ago that I am invisible to these people.  Eric Hoffer once said, "It is the true believer's ability to 'shut his eyes and stop his ears' to facts that do not deserve to be either seen or heard which is the source of his unequaled fortitude and constancy.  He cannot be... baffled by contradictions because he denies their existence."

Having firmly fixed North African footballers and women in burkas in their heads as the face of  immigration (undesirable in their view) in France, they experience a moment of cognitive dissonance when they meet me:  a working woman immigrant of European origin and a Roman Catholic to boot.  More than once I have had the surreal experience of being surrounded by French citizens at a dinner party who are loudly complaining about how France is going to hell because of immigrants stealing jobs, refusing to integrate, and becoming a burden on French social services.  When I raise my hand and quietly point out that one of "those people" (me) is sitting at the table with them,  they inevitably reply, "Oh, we aren't talking about you."  Really?  How extraordinary.  Frankly, that is all the proof I need to consider these people and their sympathizers pure and unrepentant racists.

Le Front National (The National Front).  Their program for immigration can be found in two places on their website.  Their tracts can be found here and I would call your attention to two that I think sum up quite nicely their overall attitude:

LE FIASCO DE L’IMMIGRATION CHOISIE ! (The Selective Immigration Fiasco!).  In this one they come out swinging against selective immigration programs arguing that they increase unemployment, lower wages for the French worker and open the door for waves of immigrants to enter the country through other means.  Pretty classic and you can hear the same "chanson" on the American Right.

DOUBLE NATIONALITÉ : IL FAUT EN FINIR ! (Dual Nationality:  Time to end it!).  Their feelings  and action plan on this subject are quite clear - they would abolish it.  Of course, they do not tell their adherents just how difficult a task this would be and how it is not entirely up to France to make this decision.  There are other countries involved and for such a law to be effective France would need to negotiate with other nation-states.  For a very good discussion on this topic from a legal standpoint see this post, Pour en finir avec la binationalité, by Maitre Eolas, a French lawyer.

Their program for immigration can be found here.  Again, they are quite clear as to how they feel about immigration and what they would do if they ever got into power.  In all fairness the site says that this is their program for 2007 and an update for 2012 will be coming soon.  However, from what I have gleaned from Marine Le Pen's recent interviews, I doubt much will change. I will let you read their 2007 program at your leisure so you can form your own conclusions.

My conclusions are pretty clear:  these people are not my allies and their policies are detrimental to me and to my family.  Taking a larger view, I believe they are doing real damage to the cause of controlling immigration and the integration/naturalization of the foreign population here.  I have talked to other long-term residents who have decided to put off applying for citizenship because of Le Pen's standing in the polls and her views against dual nationality.  No one wants to go through the bureaucratic process of becoming a French citizen, only to be forced to choose and lose later on.  As for integration, if an immigrant has the impression that, no matter what he or she does, he is not welcome and is even viewed as the ultimate source of evil things,  it doesn't make any sense to try to integrate into the receiving culture.  To quote Hoffer again, " A minority that preserves its identity is inevitably a compact whole which shelters the individual, gives him a sense of belonging and immunizes him against frustration.  On the other hand, in a minority bent on assimilation, the individual stands alone, pitted against prejudice and discrimination."  The louder the Front National gets and the better they poll, the more insecure we feel and the more likely we are to cling to our national communities where we are safe and accepted.  It is really that simple.

That concludes my series on immigration and the French political landscape.  Quite a diverse field of opinions and positions.  We'll see how this all shakes out in 2012.