A bad night for Marine Le Pen, then, in France’s regional elections. Having been ahead in six regions in the first round last Sunday, her Front National appears now to have failed to win one. Cue lots of somewhat contrived jubilation from every right-thinking human on social media.
Tonight does indeed represent a significant blow to Marine Le Pen’s presidential aspirations. Winning control of a region or two would have given FN the legitimacy it craves. The huge boost in voter turn out for the second round shows that, when push comes to shove, the French remain far more likely to come out and oppose her party than support it.
But before liberals everywhere sound too triumphant, it’s worth reconsidering what has just happened. The Front National has forced the socialist party — the party of President François Hollande — to withdraw candidates and ask French lefties to hold their noses and vote for the party of Nicolas Sarkozy.
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