The Front National logo was dropped from her posters, which carried the slogan La France apaisée (France at peace). Michel Eltchaninoff’s task is therefore an important and urgent one: to subject Le Pen’s words to rigorous analysis, exposing their true meaning. Eltchaninoff’s detective work reveals Le Pen's ideas are deeply embedded in the tradition of French far-right thoughtAt first glance, it appears that Le Pen has “erased the entire history of the French far right” from her campaigning. Le Pen’s “depressing, conspiratorialist discourse”, a mix of anti-elite populism and xenophobia redolent of 1890s France, was beaten at the ballot box. But, as this illuminating study shows, her ideology still poses a threat to French democracy: “The demon has not yet breathed its last.”• Inside the Mind of Marine Le Pen is published by Hurst.

Source: The Guardian March 03, 2018 12:00 UTC