Rodun ja kulttuurin rajamailla

Ekskursio Front nationalin muukalaisvastaisuuteen

Authors

• Tuula Vaarakallio

Abstract

The exclusive discourse of the French party Front national is crystallized by the slogan "French people first" (les Français d'abord). At the same time xenophobia is transformed into a defence on national identity and cultural purity. The xenophobia of Front national is constructed upon two fundamental pillars which are the demands for national priority and the propagation of cultural difference. The ideology of Front national is based on preferentialism and hierarchy which are condensed in an apparently moderate form (préférence nationale). This article examines how the xenophobic rhetoric of Front national is built and how it works. It turns out that for Front national national preference is a kind of metaconcept from which a series of other concepts are logically derived. I will argue that the neoracism and culturalism of Front national form a new, relatively popular discursive system which exploits language and its ambiguity.