Political reactions to the Paris attacks: from national unity to politics as usual

How will the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November affect domestic politics within France? Marta Lorimer assesses the reactions from the country’s main political parties. She writes that while the previous terrorist attacks in Paris in January resulted in a display of political unity, the united front following the November attacks has been much shorter lived. Although some political figures from the opposite side of the political spectrum have offered support to President Hollande, other actors, including former President Nicolas Sarkozy and members of the Front National, have already voiced criticism of the government’s security and immigration policies in light of the attacks

Les Républicains primary: the runners and riders as the French centre-right selects its presidential candidate

Several French parties, including France’s largest centre-right party, Les Républicains, will select their candidate for the 2017 French presidential election in a primary to be held in November. With the official campaign set to kick-off on 21 September, Marta Lorimer discusses the main contenders and their programmes ahead of the vote

Macron has won the presidency – now he must turn his attention to the ‘third round’ in June

Emmanuel Macron is the new President of France, but having won the presidency, he now faces the daunting task of securing a majority in the country’s upcoming legislative elections. Marta Lorimer writes that although early opinion polling has been encouraging for Macron’s ‘En Marche!’ movement, the campaign will present a number of major challenges

I'm not British - why should I care about Brexit?

Marta Lorimer, from the LSE European Institute, explains why non-Brits should care about Brexit. She argues that for millennial Europeans, the Generation Brexit platform, now available in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Greek versions, is an ideal space to make their voices heard. When on 23 June 2016 Britain voted to leave the European Union, the results of the UK ..

Having won the French centre-right’s primary, does François Fillon have what it takes to beat Marine Le Pen?

François Fillon has been selected as the French centre-right’s candidate for the 2017 presidential election. But with the nomination secured, what challenges lie ahead? Marta Lorimer suggests that although Fillon’s programme proved popular with voters in the primary, he may need to broaden its appeal to have similar success in the presidential election itself

The Amazing Race: tracking the twists and turns in France’s presidential election

The French presidential election scheduled for 23 April and 7 May has produced a series of unexpected developments, with opinion polls now pointing toward a second-round runoff between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron. Marta Lorimer tracks how the campaign has developed and suggests that with over a month still left to campaign, there may be more surprises ahead

The French legislative election: outlook for the first round on 11 June

Following the election of Emmanuel Macron in May, French voters will be called to elect their new parliament on 11 and 18 June. While legislative elections are often considered to be ‘second order elections’ in the French system, Marta Lorimer argues that this year’s elections will be particularly important because they will determine whether Macron will have the parliamentary majority he needs to push forward his reform programme, and will provide a true measure of the President’s success

Eurosceptic or Euro-ambivalent? Understanding the positions of far right parties on Europe

Most contemporary far right parties oppose European integration, but is Euroscepticism a natural complement to far right ideology? Marta Lorimer writes that while we now tend to see far right parties as Eurosceptic, this was not always the case. Drawing on an analysis of the Italian Social Movement and French Front National, she demonstrates that ambivalence is an important part of the far right’s approach to Europe

A cross-European platform to undermine the EU? Eurosceptic parties cooperate to create a vision for ‘another Europe’

The Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group was formed in 2015 as a collaboration between Eurosceptic and anti-immigration parties in the European Parliament, including Marine Le Pen’s Front National, Italy’s Lega Nord, Vlaams Belang from Belgium, the Freedom Party of Austria, and Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom. Marta Lorimer writes on the first convention held by the ENF on 28-29 January in Milan, noting that while the ideas expressed by speakers offered little that was genuinely new in terms of content, the convention illustrates the extent to which parties on the far-right of the political spectrum are willing to cooperate in their opposition to the EU

Sarko vs Juppé: will the French right select a candidate who can stop Le Pen?

On 20 and 27 November, the French right will select its candidate for the 2017 presidential election. While formally a seven candidate race, polls indicate that the real battle is between former president Nicolas Sarkozy and former prime minister and mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppé. Marta Lorimer discusses the polls and the variables likely to shape the final result