Alain Soral

Alain Soral is a French writer who has achieved some prominence for his leftist critiques of “communitarians,” or those whose narrow loyalties put them in opposition to “republican universalism.” His targets have included Muslims and homosexuals, and the latter have been very active in trying to intimidate his publishers. Many believe that Mr. Soral, along with Marine Le Pen, has played an important role in crafting the new guidelines for the 2007 campaign.

Although Mr. Soral’s shift to the National Front is a logical reflection of his hopes for a united France, his friendship with Mr. Le Pen shocked the establishment when he made it public in an interview in November 2006. Recently, he explained his position as follows:

Why would a mainstream journalist associate himself with the National Front?

I support the National Front without second thoughts because I am convinced that in the face of a system that has failed, Jean-Marie Le Pen is the only candidate who still embodies the values I hold dear: constancy, fidelity, free thought, honor, independence . . . These are qualities to which I would add Marine’s: modernity and openness . . . When one sees what “mainstream” means these days, I couldn’t care less about being mainstream. I prefer to run risks that I hope will encourage progress in what I see as the right direction. I have always been in the vanguard; others will follow.

What role, exactly, do you play with regard to Jean-Marie Le Pen?

I am part of the campaign team, which means I work with Marine and her father. My role is to offer ideas on those subjects on which I have written and in which I have a certain competence: the fight against one-world ultra-liberalism, problems in certain communities, the non-white suburbs . . .

Do you think you can increase the vote for the NF, and if so, how?

I think the NF has a great future on the left, and by the left, I do not mean the yuppie left but the economic and social left. We must defend small and medium-sized companies, artisans, and employed Frenchmen against the forces of big business and deindustrialization. The NF is already the number-one workers’ party in France, and it is also the natural party for artisans and entrepreneurs who will realize sooner or later, that the UMP (French acronym for Union for a Popular Movement, the ruling center-right party) is the party of the bosses and thus their enemy.

The NF therefore has a real future on the left, on the right, and even in the non-white suburbs, because its values of honor and courage are also those of young Frenchmen of immigrant origin to whom the UMP system offers nothing but manipulation and handouts.

Do you plan to run for office?

I haven’t even thought about it. For the time being, all my energy is going into Jean-Marie Le Pen’s campaign, and my greatest reward will be to see him once again in a runoff for the president-and this time win!

To which are you most attached, the party or its leader?

My experience has been first, one of friendship and respect for a man whose intelligence and courage have touched both my head and my heart. There is also my friendly, intimate cooperation with Marine and her close associates. Because I am not yet a member of the party, that is the extent of my association for the time being.

What has changed in your life since you became associated with the NF?

What has changed is that after years of disappointments at the hands of the left, of the Communist Party and of Liberation [a prominent leftist newspaper], I have finally found a family, a family of humane, nonconformists . . . The jerks continue to hate me, of course, but after 20 years of that, I might as well be wearing armor.