ABSTRACT
The rapid rise of the national front (Front National, or FN) from an obscure formation to the rank of an electoral force to be reckoned with is a key sign of the transformation of French politics. The sociological profile of the FN supporter does not diverge markedly from that of the entire opposition electorate nor from that of the electorate as a whole in terms of age, religion, profession, area of residence, and gender—except that males have been dominant. A major divergence of Le Pen and his FN from Hitler and his Fascists is that the former are neither antirepublican nor excessively etatist, even though at the time of its founding the FN proclaimed that it intended to work for a strong state. The emergence of the FN from "lunatic fringe" status to partial respectability is indicated not only by the increased media coverage of Le Pen's doings and sayings and his standing in the polls.
