EU election: low-key campaigns from big two give FN a chance to win in France

Richard Balme (1) , Olivier Rozenberg (1)

1 CEE - Centre d'études européennes et de politique comparée (Sciences Po, CNRS)

1st lines:: France’s relationship with the EU appears paradoxical given the contrast between the traditional pro-EU involvement of French elites and regular expressions of reticence, such as the opposition to the Draft Constitutional Treaty rejected by referendum in 2005. As a result of this paradox, the national narratives for supporting French membership to the EU suffer from progressive erosion and Euroscepticism is subtly gaining ground. Support for the EU also has suffered, as in most of the other member states, from the on-going economic and financial crisis. The difficulties to overcome, as well as the growing gap between France and Germany, have been pointed to by Eurosceptic forces who criticise the lack of genuine protection offered by the EU. The argument is two-fold: globalisation is generally perceived as being as much of a threat as the enlargement of the EU.

Domains: Sociology; Political science

Richard Balme, Olivier Rozenberg. EU election: low-key campaigns from big two give FN a chance to win in France. The Conversation, 2014. ⟨hal-02365783⟩