The rise of the National Front is pushing France towards a genuine three-party system

Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP received the largest share of support in the French departmental elections on 22 and 29 March. However the success of Marine Le Pen’s Front National, which polled over 20 per cent in both rounds of voting, was once again one of the key stories to emerge from the vote. Helen Drakewrites on the lessons to be learned for France’s political system ahead of regional elections in December and the next presidential election in 2017. She notes that an emerging tripartite party system is now appearing in France, where the Front National more or less equals the power of the traditionally dominant mainstream centre-left and centre-right parties.