French far right victory brings Eurozone disaster closer

Whatever the outcome, the latest vote shows a bigger-than-ever disconnect between the French élite, which has always wanted more European integration (if only on its own terms), and the population, which is now “firmly against any further integration,” says Simon Tilford, of the Centre for European Reform in London.

“There’s even less likelihood now of major institutional reform,” Tilford says.

...France still won’t be lost even if the FN wins one or more local governments next Sunday. Greece’s experiments this year show how the responsibility of government can explode the pretensions of radicals, after all. But, as CER’s Tilford points out, “the politics have been moving in a worrying direction for a long time.”