France – King's Think Tank

The Rassemblement National: mainstreaming far-right ideas in French politics

May 31, 2021April 4, 2021Leave a comment

The Rassemblement National (RN) is a populist right-wing party that plays a prominent role not only in French society, but also in politics. The party was founded in 1972 on the premise of uniting dispersed far-right movements in France and continues to maintain a very strong nativist ideology and discourse. This can be summed up by the idea of a préférence nationale (national preference) which seeks to stop the inflow of immigrants who compete with French workers and ensure that only French people benefit from social welfare. Although the RN has never been in office, they have had a significant amount of influence on French politics. In order to understand the continued success of the RN, it is important to look at the factors that have enabled this.

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Ambitious Realism at the Paris Climate Talks

December 17, 2015September 7, 2018Leave a comment

On the morning of 12^th December, President of COP21 and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius delivered a passionate speech preceding the release of the final draft of the Paris Agreement. He spoke of the need to recognise how “collective efforts are more than the sum of our individual actions”, that if nations failed to agree, “our children would neither understand nor forgive us”, and that the negotiations had produced an “ambitious and balanced” agreement that recognised the notion of climate justice. Continue reading “Ambitious Realism at the Paris Climate Talks” →

A View from the Think Tank: Talk First, Fight Later.

December 3, 2015October 8, 2018Leave a comment

Editor’s Note: This was written before the Commons vote on air-strikes in Syria, but serves as a well-thought through indictment of an ill-thought through rush to war. It is a long read, but an important one.

The terror attacks that took place on Friday 13^th of November 2015 have proved to be a catalyst for a shift in policy away from the containment of ISIS to its destruction. Parallel to this there has been a shifting discourse concerning not only the nature and identity of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, but also of European and western society. The long term cultural impact of recent events has yet to be revealed. However, in the immediate term it is important to present three questions. A) What is the regional context in which ISIS operates? B) How can ISIS be defeated? C) How can regional stability be established? Continue reading “A View from the Think Tank: Talk First, Fight Later.” →

The Radical Right: A Political Annoyance or a Cause of Cultural Intolerance?

March 13, 2015October 15, 2015Leave a comment

Paranoia about the rise of the radical right has penetrated the minds of voters, the platforms of politicians, and the pages of the press and it is overshadowing pressing democratic and economic issues. However, is the radical right really in a position to make a genuine political difference? Continue reading “The Radical Right: A Political Annoyance or a Cause of Cultural Intolerance?” →