“Time’s up for denial and hypocrisy,” says Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s Front National political party.  “The absolute rejection of Islamic fundamentalism must be proclaimed loudly and clearly.”

Le Pen and her party are routinely denounced by the establishment media and politicians throughout the EU as “far right” and “racist.”  The demonization may have lost all traction, however, as two hostage situations play out, having a profound effect on French national consciousness. A report in Bloomberg Business Week by Angeline Benoit, Sandrine Rastello, and Caroline Alexander well sums up the fear gripping the establishment.

While President Francois Hollande called for national unity in an attempt to deter the public from demonizing the country’s 5-million strong Muslim community, Le Pen said France has to confront the beliefs of the gunmen who stormed the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

France faces national elections in 2017, and Le Pen is surging.  Even before the current troubles:

Le Pen led Hollande by as much as 15 percentage points in a September survey of voting intentions by Ifop for Le Figaro newspaper. The Front National topped Hollande’s Socialists and their predecessors, the UMP, in last year’s European elections.

Meanwhile, President Obama still refuses to mention the word “Islam” when referring to the terror threat the world awakens to.  The leaders of Germany, the U.K., Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Norway, and all the other countries in Europe hosting large Muslim comunities must be taking note.

Photo Credit: Bloomberg Business Week