Excerpt:
The strong showing made by National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in the first round of France's presidential election has highlighted the strength of far right groups in Europe.
A round-up of the main groups contesting national elections in Europe:
FRANCE: The Front National was set up in 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen, the father of Marine Le Pen. In 2002 Le Pen senior scored a major upset by coming in second in a presidential election with 16.9% of the vote.