In this latest Lowdown podcast Nick Cohen talks in-depth to with Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet, a former F.T Paris correspondent about his book "Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella, and the Future of Europe." Mallett explores how the French far-right, led by Marine Le Pen and her protege Jordan Bardella, has become a mainstream political force after decades of gradual growth since the 1950s. Nick and Victor discuss how the far-right has capitalised on immigration concerns, economic grievances, and media influence to gain power, while the traditional left and centre-right parties have struggled to maintain relevance.

Victor Mallet explains how the far-right's seemingly more pragmatic approach and media support have helped them transform from a fringe party to a dominant force in French politics, with significant implications for the European Union's future and the broader European project, and possibly the hard-won peace of Europe.

Nick and Victor discuss how the far right is across the march across Europe, aided and supported by Trump's White House and Putin's Kremlin.

They discuss the rise of far-right and nationalist populist parties across Europe and the United States, noting that countries with histories of fascist rule, like Germany and Italy, are now seeing significant support for these parties. They attribute this phenomenon to factors such as immigration, economic challenges, and the "Fox Newsification" of media, which fuels a culture war. Nick suggests that governments' currently tough stances on immigration, mirrored by leaders like Sir Keir Starmer in Britain and Friedrich Mertz in Germany, fail to resonate positively with voters, highlighting the stubborn complexity of addressing anti-immigrant sentiment at the ballot box.

Victor Mallet FT @VJMallet is a journalist, and was formerly the paper's Paris correspondent in the last of three stints in France for the FT. He is also an author, most recently of Far-right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe (Published by Hurst, and available now.) Victor is currently still based in Europe.

Nick Cohen's @NichCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond.

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