Pave: Busted Front

Le jour 241 de Sarko

Provincialism, anti-semitism, racism -- these "isms" are expensive. Loathesomeness, stridency, and delusions are also pricey.

French fringe politics are going bankrupt.

LE PEN: PARTY HEADQUARTERS UP FOR SALE

PARIS January 10, 2008 (AP) - Jean-Marie Le Pen's extreme right party has put its national headquarters up for sale in hopes of alleviating its financial trouble, the French anti-immigration politician said Thursday.

Le Pen told LCI television his party was "practically without resources" after poor results in presidential and legislative elections. He said there was as yet no buyer for the building in the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud. M. Le Pen:

We are resigned to selling our headquarters, because we want to honor the debts of our candidates.

The National Front has canceled a series of events, such as a summer conference, to save money. Le Pen got less than 10.5 percent of the vote in the April first round presidential vote — the party's second-worst showing in five elections.

The party did even worse in the legislative elections that followed. Only one of the party's candidates, Le Pen's daughter Marine, made it into the second round of voting. There, she was defeated.

The party will nevertheless put forward candidates for local elections in March 2008, Le Pen said.

PFFT (What is this?): Empty ideas and empty purses 3½ | Rayonnement français 1½