Racism and Fascism - new material (18)
01 April 2011
Action undermines far-right ploy to penetrate French trade unions. Labour Research Volume 100 no. 4, 2011, p. 8. Article on the how the French extreme right Front National (FN) has created a ”national circle for the defence of unionised employees” which it hopes to use to infiltrate the trade union movement by bringing together members who are trade unionists. France’s two largest confederations, supported by other union groups, have denounced the FN policy and have acted against individuals standing for the FN in elections. The CGT’s general secretary, Bernard Thibault, has argued that the FN “cannot be considered a political party like any other” and that its policies, such as the so-called “national preference”, are incompatible with the union’s commitment to freedom of expression. The “deeply racist and homophobic” FN is described as “the absolute enemy” by CFDT general secretary, Jean-Luis Malys. Labour Research website: www.lrd.org.uk
Unveiling the Truth: why 32 women wear the full-face veil in France. Open Society Foundation, (April) 2011, pp. 178. As part of the At Home in Europe Project (which “examines the position of minority and marginalised groups in a changing Europe”), this report outlines the experiences and opinions of 32 Muslim women in France who wear the full-face veil. Released at the same time as the French law banning face coverings in public places came into force, the main findings are that of the 32 women (30 of whom were born in France, 29 of them are French citizens), “none of the respondents were forced into wearing the full-face veil”, and the decision to do so “was made independently by the women”. The media attention devoted to the issue in France “encouraged a number of interviewees, especially younger ones, to adopt the full-face veil”. The vast majority of women interviewed have “suffered some form of verbal abuse from members of the public”, including from other Muslims who have accused them of giving Islam a bad reputation. A minority have been physically assaulted. A number of the interviewees believe that hostility towards their choice of clothing increased after the debate over the full-face veil began in April 2009: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/home/articles_publications/publications/unveiling-the-truth-20110411
On the Brink, Nick Lowles. Searchlight No 432 (June) 2011, pp. 8-13. Article on the BNP’s “electoral disaster” at May’s council elections which saw the far right organisation “losing almost all the council it was defending without gaining any new ones. It was an electoral defeat that leaves [party leader] Nick Griffin clinging onto power by his fingertips and the party on the brink of collapse.” The collapse of the BNP’s electoral strategy may well presage the return of the “foot soldier” and an increase in racist attacks.
Le Pen, Mightier than the Sword? The Economist 7.5.11., p. 37 This article is a short case study of the leadership of the French Front National by Marine Le Pen, daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen. It notes that she is “an intriguing study in how to make extremist politics marketable”. During her time as leader she has attempted to move towards a more PR-friendly image in both appearance and politics, stepping away from outright racism on the surface at least. Her proposed transformation of the Front National into a majority party would “draw not only on anti-immigrant feeling but on latent French Euro-scepticism and disillusion with the elite”. The Economist concludes that “under scrutiny, many of Ms Le Pen’s ideas, when not toxic, are deeply flawed.”