French historian Laurent Joly says periods of crisis repeatedly create opportunities for the far right to gain support at the expense of more moderate forces. In an interview with Le Monde, he points to the economic malaise and broader sense of Western unease as factors benefiting the far right in France today, drawing a comparison with the late 1930s.
Joly, a research director at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research and a specialist in the far right and the Vichy regime, has written “Le Piège. La droite face à l’extrême droite depuis la Révolution française,” published by Tallandier. The 256-page book uses previously unpublished sources to trace relations between the French far right and conservative and liberal political currents over time.
The interview also examines the weakening of traditional right-wing party Les Républicains as the far right gains influence. Joly’s title underscores his warning that the far right’s history of violence should not be forgotten.
Sources: Le Monde Politique.