French far right looks to capitalize on unrest

The clear favorite in April’s presidential elections, Marine Le Pen and her party blamed the centrist government for being “soft on crime” and vowed to “restore order” following this weekend’s riots. French authorities instituted overnight curfews in several cities Monday in a bid to control violent cost-of-living protests that have fueled the country’s far right. “The picture of France emerging… plays well into their hands,” an expert told The New York Times; similarly, Spain’s Ceuta migrant crisis that triggered widespread disorder has boosted the popularity of the country’s anti-immigration Vox party. France’s unrest, often directed at symbols of the Fifth Republic, has “fueled the rise of parties built around radical stances,” a Le Monde writer argued, which embrace the “ logic of confrontation.”