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Latest update: 06/03/2012
- French elections - French politics - Greece - Marine Le Pen - National Front party (France)
Le Pen: 'The US model cannot be applied to France'
With exactly seven months to go before the first round of France’s 2012 presidential election, Marine Le Pen, the candidate for the far-right National Front party, delves into issues beyond French borders.
By Joseph BAMAT (text)
Marine Le Pen's ratings have slipped since a shock opinion poll in March placed her ahead of mainstream candidates for the French presidency, but the leader of the anti-immigration National Front could still shake up the vote next April. With exactly seven months to go before the first round of the 2012 elections, only five percentage points separate Le Pen from the incumbent president, Nicolas Sarkozy. FRANCE 24 asked her to weigh in on the issues at the heart of current French politics, but also the events making international headlines.
FRANCE 24: Reacting to a proposal by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party to have French teenagers and naturalised citizens swear to defend France [an oath resembling the US Pledge of Allegiance], you said yesterday you were “deeply annoyed” by the “Americanization” of French politics. What other ideas or trends are you referring to?
Marine Le Pen: I was thinking about the introduction of the guilty plea in our justice system, about the idea circulated a few years ago [by President Sarkozy] to eliminate the role of the investigative judge, which in reality demonstrated the wish to progressively apply the American judicial system to French law. I was thinking about the importation of affirmative action. I think our president has a fascination for the United States and fails to understand that their culture is highly respectable but different from ours. The American model can't be applied to French culture.
F24: What is the best thing France can do to help debt-burdened Greece?
M.L.P.: To organise a prepared exit plan from the eurozone for Greece, and for a number of countries. It seems to me we are heading towards a financial cataclysm and the Greek people are going to be bled to death if we pursue the measures that have been in place for the past few months.
F24: Does France have a responsibility towards Greece?
M.L.P.: All of Europe does, and needs to look with interest at what is happening in Greece. Greece is the cradle of democracy and the cradle of liberties, and to hear today some speak about “putting them under guardianship”, in other words to take away their liberty and sovereignty, that shows that the economic system that has been created by our leaders is crazy. It was a huge error and now we need to close that parenthesis and move on to something else.
F24: What lessons should France draw from revolts in the Arab world?
M.L.P.: The lesson to learn is that there comes a time when a people no longer tolerate corruption, no longer tolerate when their leaders put their personal interests ahead of the collective interest, no longer tolerate the economic decisions that profit a few but hurt the rest. Maybe European leaders should be careful, because the revolutions that rocked the Arab countries could tomorrow reach Europe. I am opposed to armed intervention in a whole series of countries, which could unify several groups against Europe.
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Comments (8)
its not often that...
i would ever agree with this woman, but, i find i am in majority agreements with her statements. its a shame that on other issues shes so easily dismissed as a right wing lunatic.
neither the american "justice" system or its political system in any way work both disregard poor and minorities and reward the corrupt actions of the rich, powerful and wealthy.
with regard to greece, again, she is, from my point of view correct. Greece should leave the Euro in a planned and structured way, greece is very rapidly becoming a third world country for the majority with access to healthcare, socialised assistance, unemployment protection of any form and punitive tax structures so the wealthiest elements of the global elite can get their investments back.
as for charles and his "lotus eater" description, one should be a little less quick to judgement.
Greece is a small country, in a difficult geographical position and had an economy not even remotely suited to joining the euro. however, to describe the greek people as lotus eaters is frankly moronic. should one blame the majority of hard working, (highest hours worked per person of all the eu countries), low paid (average salary lower than the rest of europe) and now financially ruined greeks for the failings of a few?
the greek nation is being "bailed out" by europe, not to help the greeks but to save the banking institutions of Germany, France and the UK. no other reason. greeks taking on more debt to service debt they cant pay back, an economy shrinking at over 3% per MONTH, an additional 20,000 workers to go from state employment (note i said an additional and that represents 0.2% of the entire population all on its own) and an increased burden of tax. you quite clearly have no idea about the situation in greece, the desperation and lack of hope that the majority of families are enduring.
look again at the bailout terms, note how as part of the package the greeks are contracted to buy more weapons from germany and france in order to receive the payments, how much of the greek debt is accumulated through defnding hers, and europes, borders from illegal immigration. how many of europes illegal immigrants are stopped here in greece and finally the costs of holding and processing all those people. these tabs are picked up by the greeks, not the countries the immigrants are hoping to reach.
look a little closer into the method by which the debt was accumulated, the conditions of the bailouts and realise, whilst the greeks suffer others are profiteering, strip mning the country of her assets in the biggest firesale in history.
your suggestion is brilliant. force the greek economy into deep deep recession. force the population into unemployment. then, when the average was is non-exsistent french, privately held companies can come in and "invest", by which you mean exploit the depressed economic situation by employing people at a competitive rate to far eastern markets thus keeping hr cost low, treat the employees like dogs because theyll be so desperate for the work they daren't complain all the while profiting from the "helping to save greece" marketing, and genrating the slightly increased human cost compared with india or china through saving generated by hugely reduced transport costs (fuels rather costly) and of course import taxes by having it made in europe.
yes, i could see how that WOULD be appealing for France and Germany.
so, come to greece, staty with a family, experience their fears and concerns, see our streets and lives then maybe you can come down from your high horse in your gilded tower and see the human cost not just the best way to keep investors happy.
The US Model should'nt be applied to any country
I could not put it better than Joseph John Walker. Britain is run and abused by the rich, keeping a large proportion of the public, as in the USA, totally ignorant is deliberate
Le Pen and La France
Obsessive French egocentricity (US model cannot be adapted etc) will maintain their slide toward mediocrity and irrelevance.
Le Pen and La France
Obsessive French egocentricity (US model cannot be adapted etc) will maintain their slide toward mediocrity and irrelevance.
Nation-State Mentality
and the rise of nation-state mentality is here. the american model does not apply to france. french model does not apply to america. each nation-state has its own culture, tradition and values. the problem is that the political elite does not respect the nation-states, they think above the nation-state and hence failing to consider and realize the difference of people from different countries. a Straightjacket approach will never work in a diverse society.
American model
Doubt if any intelligent country would want to copy the American system.Only know of one ignorant country in the west IE Britain that is copying the American system.But then its subjects are thick and Ingorant as the American subjects.
Le Pen: 'The US model cannot be applied to France'
I deeply agree that the US model has no place in France and find President Sarkozy's interest in the US enough to keep me from voting in his parties favor. With this said I am still not decided on who to vote for at this point. While this is a great forum to exchange and discuss ideals it would be amazing to meet and speak to the candidates, with so much at stake. I honestly would be happy to be so lucky as to be able to move back home to France...This is a historical time for France to make lasting change for not just France but Europe and I hope we make the correct choices, I guess only time will tell...
Getting it right.
Armed intervention is needed, to establish a sufficiently stable and secure environment that is responsive to international law, in North Africa, etc., so that those who would choose to migrate to France, can now choose to remain at home and develop their emerging democracies. This will also encourage the too many migrants already in France, and of which the FN complain and utilise as a campaign platform, to consider repatriation to a culture that suits them better, and makes it possible for France to recover its culture. It is outrageous that Greece, the fountainhead of western culture politics, philosophy and science has been reduced to such a calamitous state, by the lotus eaters that are the Greek people, with the gall to blame France and Germany for not paying them to do what they please. The best that France can do, is to compel the Greeks to make the necessary adjustments, so that France can invest in Greece, and so provide the private sector employment that the Greeks need.
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