No. What is “far right” in the European press is Naziism, despite the fact that Naziism is socialist. The European press calls what we call “conservative,” “economically liberal.” FN is a socialist party. Le Pen, pere et soeur, support nationalization of energy, banking, transportation (including airline and manufacturing), and education. And in education, it is vital to note the distinction between government-supported options (like in the U.S.), and nationalization (like in Nazi Germany).
I understand FN under Le Pen is no longer the communist organization it once was, and I’d be interested to know whether after the Muslims targeted Catholic schools for destruction, whether Le Pen concurs with those Islamofacsist mobs that Catholic schools must be eradicated. So if you have anything to share about recent shifts in Le Pen’s positions, please share. (I have little to go besides Wikipedia discussions and leads.)
Of course, with politicians and political groups, stated positions can change and they can also differ from actions. So I can’t help but shy away from making absolute statements on particulars.
I did find this...
Davies, P. (2010), The Front National and Catholicism: from intégrisme to Joan of Arc and Clovis. Religion Compass, 4: 576–587. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2010.00237.x
at Wiley.
Abstract
The relationship between the Front National and religion has never been straightforward. Jean-Marie Le Pen, the party’s leader, comes from a Catholic background, and many of his policies are rooted in traditional Catholic teaching. The FN’s interpretation of French history is based around religion and its main political icons – Joan of Arc and Clovis, for example – are chosen precisely because of their heroism and Catholic-ness. In fact, the FN is the latest in a long line of far-right movements to position themselves close to the Church. But the situation is complicated by the fact that the party is loyal to the Latin Mass and for many years was dominated by an ‘integrist’ or ‘fundamentalist’ faction. Electoral data also suggest that for all its ‘Catholic values’, the FN is not that popular with regular churchgoers. In summary, the FN is an interesting movement with a curious relationship to Catholicism and the Catholic Church.
Here’s the link...
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-8171.2010.00237.x/abstract
Now that you mention wikipedia, yes, I take it with a grain of salt, etc. (let’s get that out of the way), that being said, it had an interesting tidbit on Jean-Marie Le Pen...
“Le Pen focuses on immigration to France, the European Union, traditional culture, law and order and France’s high rate of unemployment. He advocates immigration restrictions, the death penalty, raising incentives for homemakers,[1] and euroscepticism. He strongly opposes same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and abortion.”
Here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Le_Pen#Political_career
Also this...
“At the end of the 1970s, Le Pen refurbished his party’s appeal, by breaking away from the anticapitalist heritage of Poujadism. He instead made an unambiguous commitment to popular capitalism, and started espousing an extremely market liberal and antistatist program. Issues included lower taxes, to reduce state intervention, as well as to dissolve the bureaucracy. Some scholars have even considered that the FN’s 1978 program may be regarded as “Reaganite before Reagan”.”
and this on Marine:
“Since becoming leader of the party in 2011, Marine Le Pen has focused mostly on the perceived threat against the secular value system of the French Republic. She has criticised Muslims, for what she sees as their intents to impose their own values on the country.[128] Following the rebellions in several Arab countries, she has been active in campaigning on halting the migration to Europe of Tunisian and Libyan immigrants.”
Here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Front_%28France%29
Politics in France is rather different from America and quite complex, then again American politics would be likewise for a French observer. I could not find anything where National Front was supportive of communism; of course there are similar-sounding names, such as the overtly communist National Liberation Front in Viet Nam in the 1960’s, but these are different organizations from “Front National” in France.
I try to not write off every Frenchman as a socialist. I worked with a Polish fellow recently who enlightened me on the conservatism of some Europeans that has persisted even until today. IMHO, there are more than a few in France who see the bloated bureaucracy as a mistake and are very desirous of seeing more small business and entrepreneurialism. The following site popped up on quick search of
france entrepreneur
http://www.french-property.com/guides/france/working-in-france/micro-entrepreneur-business-france/
Interesting...