Ever since the Brexit vote came to light, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been exuberant.
Le Pen, the National Front head running for president, has taken the decision as a sign that France could follow with an EU exit referendum of its own. This week, she told Time that Brexit marked “the beginning of the end of the European Union.” She described the decision to the BBC as “the most important moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall.” And, in a New York Times op-ed, she wrote the move by Britain was an “act of courage.”
But Le Pen faces a steep uphill battle. French President Francois Hollande dismissed the idea of a referendum over the weekend in a meeting with her at the Elysee Palace. So to hold a “Frexit” vote, she would have to become president. It’s a long shot. Polls show that while she may make it to the run-off stage in the country’s spring elections, she is unlikely to win the overall race.
Laura Cohn