My Year Living with French Fascists

Baguettes, an orchid, and accidental cohabitation with the far right in Lyon

I felt a bit ridiculous trading a bag of laundry for an orchid in front of an Ancient Roman amphitheater, but this is what the French fascists brought me to.

During my year studying abroad in Lyon, France, I was placed- unbeknownst to me- with a host family who was active in what was then called the National Front, aka the French far-right party that promotes nationalism, anti-Semitism, and general fascism.

They now go by the National Rally (Rassemblement National) to conjure up images of some terrifying bloodthirsty rallies we’re now familiar with in the U.S. This party recently made international headlines when its leader, Marine Le Pen, came close to victory for the French presidency against centrist incumbent, Emmanuel Macron. Macron defeated Le Pen by a decisive although not dominating margin in Sunday’s final vote, putting to rest the idea of Putin’s French bestie controlling the country, for now.

When I lived in Lyon in 2003 and 2004, Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was still the party’s long-term leader, before passing his hate-filled torch to the next generation. I had never heard of the National Front before. As problematic and contentious as George W. Bush’s…