We can take comfort in the fact the he is unlikely to win the bonus round, but Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the French chapter of the Free Republic, is projected to come in second place in the first round of presidential elections.
From the article:
PARIS (AP) - In a huge upset, extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen qualified on Sunday to face President Jacques Chirac in the runoff for French president, according to media projections based on exit polls.
Le Pen, who virulently opposes immigration, was projected to place second by all three major French networks, beating Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who was in third place.
The projected result was seen as a political earthquake. For months, polls had consistently projected that Chirac, a conservative, and Jospin, a Socialist, would be the top two finishers in Sunday's first round of voting.
Le Pen is founder and head of the National Front party, which historically has blamed immigrants for high unemployment and urban violence. He is notorious for once describing the Holocaust as "a detail" of history. He has denied he is anti-Semitic.
Le Pen, 73, has played a central role as kingmaker in past presidential elections, with a typical score of 15 percent. He placed third in the last two races. This is his fourth presidential campaign.
Francois LeNader, when asked for a reaction, stated "C'est une victoire pour le Parti Vert français!"
