Excerpt:
A worrying trend is sweeping Europe. Extremist parties on both the far-Left and the far-Right are on the rise, apparently exploiting the economic turmoil that has swept across the debt-ridden continent. The co-opting of extreme solutions to the Muslim immigration issues also seems to be playing a part.
In France, a number of anti-Zionist parties on the far-Left made a strong showing in the first round of voting in April. And in the wake of socialist François Hollande's victory over Nicolas Sarkozy in Sunday's presidential race, there is a real possibility that these parties will be included in Hollande's government coalition.
Richard Prasquier, the president of the CRIF umbrella group of French Jewry, has warned of the need for caution regarding the rise of the Left in France. While Hollande, has made the right public comments in condemning anti-Semitism and professing admiration of Israel, some of the parties who are supposed to be partners in Hollande's coalition "are not friends of Israel," he said.