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The ''Front National'' ('''FN''', '''National Front''' in Chronicle'' {Link without Title} . FN claims to have 60,000 members {Link without Title} . It bases its programme on an approach to Immigration , National Sovereignty , and society topics such as the Death Penalty (forbidden by the European Union ), Homosexuality and AIDS . In the 2002 presidential race Front National candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen finished second to Jacques Chirac in a runoff election. LEADERSHIP in a publicity image from the party website. The slogan is, "Proud to be French."]] Jean-Marie Le Pen has led the party since its foundation. Other major members are:
Other prominent members include:
Occasionally, Le Pen's leadership has been questioned. In a widely publicized move, Bruno Mégret and other major National Front members split away in 1998 to form a new party, the National Republican Movement (''Mouvement National Républicain'' - MNR), alleging that Le Pen's provocative comments and his management style were limiting the National Front to being a marginal opposition party, without any possibility of gaining power {Link without Title} . This led to a major purge and reorganization of the leadership of the Front National. POLITICAL PLATFORM The Front National posts a comprehensive political platform on its website. The party advocates economic , the stress was more on issues of law and order – one of the recurrent themes of the National Front is tougher Law Enforcement and higher Sentence s for crimes, and the reinstatement of the Death Penalty . The Front National regularly campaigns against the " Establishment ", which encompasses the other political parties as well as most Journalist s. Le Pen lumped all major parties ( French Communist Party (PCF), French Socialist Party (PS), Union For French Democracy (UDF), Rally For The Republic (RPR)) into the " Gang Of Four " (an allusion to China 's " Cultural Revolution "). According to National Front, the French right-wing parties are not true right-wing parties, and are almost indistinguishable from the "Socialo-Communist" left; the Corrupt "establishment" is betraying France, and it opposes by all means the coming of the Front. Other main positions include:
ELECTORAL SUCCESSES Municipalities The Front National (FN) has been elected in several municipalities, typically where there is unemployment and tension between local people and immigrants. The party has tended to cut back on social services for immigrants as well as cultural activities deemed "anti-family" or "multicultural." Spending has been redirected to the municipal police and other services. One of the party's earliest successes came in the city of Dreux , when in 1983 they won the city council and deputy mayorship, amid rising unemployment and ethnic tensions. In Orange the Front National reduced school spending by 50%. In Vitrolles 150 civil employees were fired, while the police force was expanded from 34 to 70 officers. During the election campaign, members of the Department Of Protection-Security (DPS) shot and killed 17-year old Ibrahim Ali . In Vitrolles, the party sought to give 500 euros to the families of each French baby born, but was unable to do so for constitutional reasons. In Vitrolles the director of the cinema was fired because he had shown a movie about Homosexuality and AIDS . 2002 presidential election In the 2002 Presidential Election many commentators were shocked when Jean-Marie Le Pen placed second and entered the second voting round. Almost all had expected the second ballot to be between Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin . This result came after the election campaign had increasingly focused on law and order issues, with some particularly striking cases of juvenile delinquency catching the attention of the media, and low voter turnout. Furthermore, Jospin had been weakened by multiple candidacies from his own political block. The election brought the Two Round Voting System into question as well as raising concerns about apathy and the way in which the left had become so divided. After huge demonstrations, Chirac went on to win the presidency in an overwhelming landslide (83%), aided by ubiquitous support in the media and academia, while Le Pen's constituency was either ridiculed or ignored by the French press. Some commentators referred to Chirac as "the lesser of two evils". The day of the election, France's most popular national newspaper-- Le Monde --featured a front page article entitled "''Chirac, bien sûr''" ("Chirac, of course"). European issues The Front National was also one of several parties that backed France's 2005 rejection of the treaty for a European Constitution. In Le Pen's opinion, France should not join any organization that could overrule its own national decisions. The FN is the leading member of Euronat , which gathers the most radical Euronationalist parties. In the European Parliament , it is part of the Non-inscrits parties. : a poster found in front of a house in that village early in December 2005 and which has not been removed. The text reads "You are screwing France -- Pull out!"]] SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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