DECLARATIONS OF THE FRONT NATIONAL ARE NOT TRIVIAL

The President of the Front National (FN) Marine Le Pen has made a formal request to French President François Hollande to organize a referendum in January 2014 for the exit of France from the European Union.

The four reforms wanted by the FN are the following :

1 –an organised return to the national currencies;

2 –the dissolution of the Schengen space allowing free circulation within 22 of the 27 member states;

3 –the authorization of economic patrotism and reindustrialization with protectionism at French borders;

4 –the supremacy again of national law over European law.

If the French government refuses the referendum, the Front National is counting on making the European elections in 2014 a large referendum for or against the exit of France from the EU.

According to an opinion poll, 32% of French people are supportive of the FN ideas, an historical record. The recent victory of Beppe Grillo in the Italian legislative elections who is asking for a referendum and the exit of Italy from the Euro, coupled with the loss of Mario Monti in the elections show that for an increasing number of citizens, Europe is not only sick, but it is the cause of the sickness.

It’s a sentiment of threat and abandonment felt by the population and largely worsened by the crisis that fosters the rising of populist parties in France and in Europe. It is also ignorance and fear that allow such ideas to spread : fear of the unknown, fear of the other, fear of change, fear of a world that goes too fast and in which the populations don’t recognize themselves anymore. Populist parties exploit such sentiments to replace the present governments in place and impose their ideologies. Their ultimate objective is to overthrow the current political system at national and European level.

This rising power could prove dangerous for the future of Europe since European governance has become the scapegoat of these parties that see in the EU the supreme cause of all the peoples' sufferings.

The time has come to concretely analyze the reasons for the national populist votes and dismantle the simplified and simplistic  thesis of such parties that use fear and the daily difficulties of citizens to gain in creditability and power.

In order to re-establish the facts and the truth in a more just and less partial manner, the time has come for a European-wide mobilization by means of awareness campaigns , conferences and meetings.