No sooner did the Paris attacks occur, that speculation began to stir over what this would mean for France’s right-wing anti-immigration National Front. The ascendancy of the party has been steady, and the latest terrorist strike could help it ascend further in Paris. The formerly neo-Nazi party is doing remarkably well in France as national firebrand Marine Le Pen’s popularity is on the upswing. An IFOP poll in conjuction with Sud Radio and Lyon Capitale gave Le Pen  leader under certain scenarios.

There are two reasons for the rise of National Front and other anti-euro parties:

1) The adoption of a common currency hasn’t delivered the broad-based prosperity that was promised. Instead, Germany has entered a golden age of soaring exports, massive trade surpluses and balanced budgets while most other eurozone countries have been unable to function with a currency they can’t devalue at will.

2) The European Union’s decision to counter falling birthrates with rising immigration from Africa and the Middle East has, in the opinion of a growing number of Europeans, produced a two-tiered society in which a shrinking layer of liberal, pacifist, aging “natives” sits atop a growing, restless layer of newcomers who instead of assimilating are trying to impose their culture on traditional Europe.

The Paris attacks are bound to favor a party with anti-euro and anti-immigrant inclinations. Suddenly, the audience in mainstream France is a little more receptive.