IF THE CAP FITS...

French Far-Right Candidate Drops Out Over Nazi Uniform Photo

As parties unite to prevent far-right takeover, a National Rally candidate who wore a Swastika cap is forced to withdraw from run-off.

A candidate for France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party was forced to drop out of Sunday’s run-off election after a rival posted a picture of her wearing Nazi regalia. Ludivine Daoudi was standing as a candidate in the Calvados region of Normandy, famed for its apple brandy. But a left-wing rival, Emma Fourreau, posted a picture of her wearing a military cap with a Swastika. “On July 7, not a single vote for these filthy fascists,” Fourreau wrote, according to Politico. The RN has spent years trying to distance itself from its neo-Nazi origins to gain mainstream respectability—and received the largest share of the vote in the first round of the parliamentary election on Sunday. A party spokesman said Daoudi had worn the cap at a military fair several years ago and agreed herself it was in “bad taste.” He said her “candidacy will be withdrawn today.” The row came as more than 200 candidates facing three-way run-offs next weekend dropped out in a concerted bid to prevent the RN seizing a majority in the 577-seat parliament, which would give France its first far-right government since World War II.