The Front National took 1st place in a French byelection, pushing the establishment “center-right” UMP into third place.

Sophie Montel took first place, as the FN candidate, for a byelection in Doubs. This is the first election held in France since the Charlie Hebdo shootings.

Montel will run against the Socialist party candidate in a runoff on Sunday.

FN presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is polling 30%. She is likely to come in first place in the first round of the French presidential election.

Whether the UMP backs Le Pen or the Socialist Party candidate could decide who is the next president of France. The French media is urging the UMP and the Socialists to join forces against the Front National.

Charlie Hebdo magazine spearheaded a national campaign to try to get the Front National banned in 1996. It is ironic that the mass murder of Charlie Hebdo writers by Jihadists has made the Front National more popular than ever. Charlie Hebdo magazine was a militant crusader against freedom of speech, even though it is famous for publishing the Muhammed cartoons. The magazine was simply anti-religious. Charlie Hebdo aggressively supported France’s “hate speech” laws.