UNHCR CONCERNED OVER RISE OF RACISM IN EUROPE

The far right's strong showing in the first round of France's presidential elections is the latest example of the general turn to the right across Europe in the last few years. Center-left governments and coalitions have lost office in Italy, Norway, Denmark and Portugal, and strong challenges have been mounted by conservative candidates in the campaigns for coming elections in Germany and the Netherlands. But this mirrors the traditional pendulum swings of European politics. More alarming, in the view of many analysts, is the recent shift of far rightist parties from the periphery to the center of political debate. While specific circumstances vary from country to country, extreme rightists appear to have benefited from voters' anger that mainstream parties have ignored the perceived link between rising crime and immigration. Some far-right parties, like Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front, have campaigned aggressively against political elites and exploited disillusion with the European Union.