French voters must beware ‘terror trap’ after Paris shooting

Days before first round of voting in presidential election, the attack may play into the hands of Le Pen’s National Front, prompting Macron to urge defiance in the face of fear

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Far-right leader and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election Marine Le Pen. Photo: AP

Published: 9:55pm, 21 Apr 2017Updated: 10:44pm, 21 Apr 2017

A deadly shoot-out on the Champs Elysees, Paris’ most famous avenue, darkened the final day of campaigning in France’s pivotal presidential election, stoking fears of terrorist violence and causing candidates to suspend last-minute pitches before Sunday’s vote.

My government of national unity will implement this policy, so that the Republic will live, and that France will live

Marine Le Pen

As the candidates vowed to suspend campaign events to honour the fallen officer, analysts were quick to say the shooting, in a country that has suffered a string of devastating terror attacks in the past two years, was particularly advantageous for Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front who has been sharply critical of “Islamist terrorism”.

Despite a promise not to campaign, Le Pen spoke on Friday morning, calling on the government to immediately reinstate border checks and expel foreigners being monitored by the intelligence services.

“My government of national unity will implement this policy, so that the Republic will live, and that France will live,” she said.

Once the standard-bearer of a fringe extremist party, she is now at the forefront of a powerful, popular movement, eager to refashion France with an aggressively nationalist agenda. Thursday’s shooting, for which Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility, underscored how ripe France may be for Le Pen’s hardline message on immigration and Islam.

However, Le Pen’s National Front is distinguished from right-wing populists in Britain and the US by a curious trend: the strong backing of millennials. One survey shows Le Pen winning 40 per cent of the vote among those 18 to 24, a reflection of widespread youth disillusionment with the status quo.

“We’ve been told our whole lives that everything is set. Free trade. Forgetting our borders. One currency for all of Europe. Nothing can change,” said Gaëtan Dussausaye, the 23-year-old leader of the National Front’s youth wing. “But young people don’t like this system. This system is a failure.”

While Le Pen and her supporters cast themselves as agents of change, they are saddled with the dark legacy of the past.