Student outrage as Marine Le Pen visits Oxford Union
The Oxford Union decision to invite French far-right politician Marine Le Pen to speak prompts outrage from student groups. But others tell Channel 4 News it is important to hear what she has to say.
Protesters blocked the entrance to the Oxford Union ahead of Ms Le Pen’s arrival. She was due to speak at the debating society at 6pm on Thursday.
But members of the union told Channel 4 News that it was important to hear the French politician’s views before criticising her.
One student said: “I think she should have the right to speak – but it depends on what she says […] I can’t disagree with someone I don’t know much about, so that’s why I’m here.”
Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigrant Front National party has gained support in recent years, particularly at the expense of President Francois Hollande’s Socialists, as growing joblessness has fuelled support for her Eurosceptic views.
The Front National is now the third largest political organisation in France behind the right-of-centre UMP and the Socialists.
In last year’s European elections, the party secured a quarter of the French vote in what Prime Minister Manuel Valls called a political “earthquake”.
Speaking in January after the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris, Ms Le Pen told Channel 4 News the spead of Islamic fundamentalism had to be combated, otherwise “we run the risk it will spead”, with Muslims among the victims.
