French
far right attack choice of mixed-race girl for Joan of Arc role
23 Feb 2018
A French state prosecutor has
opened an inquiry into incitement to racial hatred after the selection of a
mixed-race teenager to play the folk heroine Joan of Arc in annual festivities
in Orléans was met with racist abuse from far-right users of social media. The
announcement was met with a stream of posts on Twitter and far-right websites,
branding her selection an exercise in “diversity propaganda” and an attempt to
rewrite history. “Joan of Arc was white,” read one Twitter post. “We are white
and proud of being white, don’t change our history.” Joan of Arc, who was
burned at the stake in 1431, is a heroine for many in France but is
particularly venerated by the far right as a symbol of national resistance.
Marine Le Pen: From far-right fringe to presidential contender
20 Apr 2017
In France, the National Front has
gone from fringe party status, condemned as bigoted and racist, to having the
presidential palace in its sights. The woman who has led them there is Marine
Le Pen. The 48-year-old has consistently been one of the top two candidates in
opinion polls as French voters head into the first round of voting this Sunday.
"Marine Le Pen is our Joan of Arc. She's the one who is going to save
France, bring France back up, give hope to French people."
Marine Le Pen hails patriotism as the policy of the future
21 Jan 2017
French National Front (FN) leader
Marine Le Pen has told a meeting of right-wing politicians in Germany that
patriotism is the policy of the future. The presidential candidate predicted
that voters in France, Germany and the Netherlands would follow their US and UK
counterparts to reject the arguments of the political establishment. She said
that 2017 would be the "year of the awakening" for European people.
French
parties battle for Joan of Arc's legacy
11
Apr 2015
A new museum chronicling the life
and legacy of Joan of Arc has opened in Rouen, France. The 15th century
teenager was burned as a heretic after helping repulse the English army at
Orleans, making her a national heroine. Now political parties from the
far-right to the ruling Socialists are battling to claim her legacy.
National
Front in patriotic fervor
01 May 2014
Every year on May Day the far
right in France marches to the statue of Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) on the
right bank in Paris, to lay a wreath. The Maid of Orleans is the adopted symbol
of French nationalism - though right now there's another they have taken to
their hearts. She's the National Front (FN) leader Marine Le Pen. In the spirit
of Jeanne d'Arc the backdrop for the traditional May Day speech was a picture
of a woman dressed in a suit of armor. "No to Brussels, Yes to
France" read the slogan.
French elections: Battle over 1 May
01 May 2012
French
labor historian Stephane Sirot explains that more recent attempts to
appropriate the day include the far-right National Front's decision, from 1988,
to hold an annual 1 May rally. The idea was to make the day a nationalistic
display of patriotism by linking it to the powerful figure of Joan of Arc.
