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| Win by Far-Right Party Rattles the French Establishment | Win by Far-Right Party Rattles the French Establishment |
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| PARIS — The stark victory of France’s far-right National Front in the European Parliament elections has badly rattled the country’s political establishment, eroding support for President François Hollande’s policies within his own Socialist Party and calling into question whether France was in danger of losing its place alongside Germany at the center of the European stage. | PARIS — The stark victory of France’s far-right National Front in the European Parliament elections has badly rattled the country’s political establishment, eroding support for President François Hollande’s policies within his own Socialist Party and calling into question whether France was in danger of losing its place alongside Germany at the center of the European stage. |
| European presidents and prime ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday to assess the fallout from the election, in which centrist political parties lost ground to fringe groups in country after country. Mr. Hollande used the occasion to call the results a signal from the public that Europe needed to change. | European presidents and prime ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday to assess the fallout from the election, in which centrist political parties lost ground to fringe groups in country after country. Mr. Hollande used the occasion to call the results a signal from the public that Europe needed to change. |
| “When there is such a vote in France, a founding member of the European Union — when one in four vote for the National Front, yes, there is a problem,” Mr. Hollande told reporters in Brussels. “This is not just a problem for France, but a problem for Europe.” | “When there is such a vote in France, a founding member of the European Union — when one in four vote for the National Front, yes, there is a problem,” Mr. Hollande told reporters in Brussels. “This is not just a problem for France, but a problem for Europe.” |
| Mr. Hollande may now find himself having to change tack on the economy and public finances. He had promised European leaders that he would press forward with policies that would reduce France’s budget deficit and public debt back to euro-zone norms within two years, but economic stagnation and high unemployment in the country have angered voters. | Mr. Hollande may now find himself having to change tack on the economy and public finances. He had promised European leaders that he would press forward with policies that would reduce France’s budget deficit and public debt back to euro-zone norms within two years, but economic stagnation and high unemployment in the country have angered voters. |
| Now, the left wing of the Socialist Party, which was already bridling at Mr. Hollande’s plans, will gain new ammunition from the party’s drubbing in two consecutive elections — the loss of 155 mayorships in March and now the defeat in the European balloting. | Now, the left wing of the Socialist Party, which was already bridling at Mr. Hollande’s plans, will gain new ammunition from the party’s drubbing in two consecutive elections — the loss of 155 mayorships in March and now the defeat in the European balloting. |
| “Hollande is now walking a fine line,” said Famke Krumbmüller, a political analyst at the Eurasia Group in London. “He’s pledged to do the reforms necessary to maintain France’s credibility in Europe and with the financial markets, and at the same time, keep his party behind him. But he will find it increasingly difficult to do so with the National Front pushing hard.” | “Hollande is now walking a fine line,” said Famke Krumbmüller, a political analyst at the Eurasia Group in London. “He’s pledged to do the reforms necessary to maintain France’s credibility in Europe and with the financial markets, and at the same time, keep his party behind him. But he will find it increasingly difficult to do so with the National Front pushing hard.” |
| Mr. Hollande’s prime minister, Manuel Valls, sought to shore up support within Socialist ranks at a meeting Tuesday morning, urging party members “not to give up” despite exit poll results showing that many voters turned to the far right specifically to protest Mr. Hollande’s performance and policies. | Mr. Hollande’s prime minister, Manuel Valls, sought to shore up support within Socialist ranks at a meeting Tuesday morning, urging party members “not to give up” despite exit poll results showing that many voters turned to the far right specifically to protest Mr. Hollande’s performance and policies. |
| Mr. Valls’s remarks were met with “dead silence,” Guy Delacourt, a Socialist representative from northern France, told French news outlets. “There is a real problem between Hollande and the French,” Mr. Delacourt was quoted as saying. “We’re doing him a service by telling him.” | Mr. Valls’s remarks were met with “dead silence,” Guy Delacourt, a Socialist representative from northern France, told French news outlets. “There is a real problem between Hollande and the French,” Mr. Delacourt was quoted as saying. “We’re doing him a service by telling him.” |
| In past elections, voters who were unhappy with the Socialists generally turned to the center-right Union for a Popular Movement, or vice versa. But that party has been plagued by scandals lately, and was dealt a new blow on Tuesday when its leader, Jean-François Copé, resigned amid a new embezzlement scandal. | |
| The mainstream parties “are all in a disaster because they have not done their job,” said Jean-Paul Fitoussi, an economics professor at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. “They have not found a solution to the problem of France, which is to recover, to have employment and growth.” | The mainstream parties “are all in a disaster because they have not done their job,” said Jean-Paul Fitoussi, an economics professor at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. “They have not found a solution to the problem of France, which is to recover, to have employment and growth.” |
| In France, 31 percent of voters surveyed by Harris Interactive cited immigration, the rallying point for the far right across the Continent, as their central concern. But nearly as many cited declining purchasing power, the crisis in the euro zone or rising unemployment. | In France, 31 percent of voters surveyed by Harris Interactive cited immigration, the rallying point for the far right across the Continent, as their central concern. But nearly as many cited declining purchasing power, the crisis in the euro zone or rising unemployment. |
| Mr. Valls took to the airwaves on Tuesday with new pledges for tax cuts, saying that current levels were “not manageable for the working and middle class,” the main sources of backing for the National Front. And Mr. Hollande said in Brussels on Tuesday that the European Union must do more to fight unemployment and economic insecurity. “If Europe does not change, there will be more votes like this,” he said. | Mr. Valls took to the airwaves on Tuesday with new pledges for tax cuts, saying that current levels were “not manageable for the working and middle class,” the main sources of backing for the National Front. And Mr. Hollande said in Brussels on Tuesday that the European Union must do more to fight unemployment and economic insecurity. “If Europe does not change, there will be more votes like this,” he said. |
| But Mr. Fitoussi said that the public was clearly losing patience: “They are saying, ‘Why am I suffering? Why isn’t Europe delivering its promises? And until when should we wait?’ ” | But Mr. Fitoussi said that the public was clearly losing patience: “They are saying, ‘Why am I suffering? Why isn’t Europe delivering its promises? And until when should we wait?’ ” |