The Politics of Racism in France

by P. Fysh, J. Wolfreys

Overview

This wide-ranging and provocative book is at the same time a cry of warning for the threat to democracy posed by the French National Front, an analysis of the factors which have made possible its rise and repeated success, and a ruthless critique of the failures of anti-racism. The authors deploy meticulous scholarship in examining the NF's ideology, structure, antecedents and present activities before concluding that is it much better seen as a species of modernized fascism than as simply another temporary emanation of a vague "national populism." The lack of serious opposition to the NF is attributed to the failure of mainstream anti-racists to link up with and defend the minorities which it targets, a reflection of the complacency bred by the enduring myth that France is and has been since 1789 the natural home of the Rights of Man.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312217228
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	09/23/1998
Series:	Modern Novelists
Edition description:	2003
Pages:	269
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

PETER FYSH is Senior Lecturer in French at Nottingham Trent University. He previously taught at Brunel and Aston Universities. He has published articles on the National Front in major journals, including Modern and Contemporary France and Parliamentary Affairs as well as articles and book chapters on Gaullism and the French right.

JIM WOLFREYS is Lecturer in French at King's College London. He has written a number of articles in academic journals and books on the French extreme right. The Politics of Racism in France is his first book.

Table of Contents

Introduction The Republic and Her Immigrants The National Front Breakthrough, 1981-88 Le Pen and the Extremist Tradition Anatomy of a Fascist Party: Ideology, Strategy, Organisation Youth and Anti-Racism In and Against the System, the Third Force in French Politics Where Do We Go From Here? Acknowledgements

Editorial Reviews

'This is an excellent book and probably the best available English- language history of the Front National.' - David Renton, Contemporary Politics

'...comprehensive study of racism in France explaining clearly how the National Front has come to be such a threat.' - Andy Stafford, Socialist Review

From the Publisher