ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the internal supply-side variables and external incentives for the strategic recalibration of the Front National (FN), and the new mobilization frames and strategies employed by the party in the electoral arena. It examines the collective identity frames, strategies, and topography of the current context for radical right mobilization by the FN. The chapter describes the specific sets of discursive opportunity structures that are produced within the right-wing cultural movement and the more informal network of far-right groups and activists. De-demonization has produced new interpretative frames for contentious issues of immigration and Islam, which are primarily a tactical reformulation of the traditional radical right policies and themes. Internal fights have revealed factionalism within the party, ultimately leading to the exit of Florian Philippot’s modernist faction in September 2017, which may signal a return to previous radical right strategies and themes.
