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PARIS The last time the National Front was on the verge of power, in 2002, nearly 2million people took to the streets of France to reject the party of far-right extremism.

Those protests took their toll: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the convicted Holocaust denier and co-founder of the National Front, was crushed in the elections final round, receiving 17.8percent of the vote that year. In a symbol of political sacrifice, some leftists even wore clothespins over their noses as they voted for Jacques Chirac, Frances conservative incumbent.

Republican Front is the French term for the bipartisan opposition that has prevented an extremist from winning the presidency. It is what defeated Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2002, but its impact on his daughters bid in 2017 has yet to be seen.

[Emmanuel Macron could fight off French populism. But it wont be with his ideas.]

This year the National Front is again on the cusp of power with a far greater chance of winning the presidency than in 2002. According to polls, Marine Le Pen will win at least 40 percent of the vote in the second and final round more than double her fathers total 15 years ago. But there have been no notable mass protests this year on anything close to the same scale. Although many politicians and voters remain opposed to the National Front, few can claim to be taken aback by its ascent.

There was no element of surprise this time, said Dominique Mosi, a French political scientist and the author of a well-known book about the role of emotions in political discourse. In 2002, people were genuinely shocked by the fact that someone like Jean-Marie LePen could actually reach power. This time, everybody expectedit.

When MarineLe Pen emerged in second place from the elections first round with 21 percent of the vote, politicians from both the left and the right immediately backed her opponent, the former investment banker Emmanuel Macron. But in a remarkable break with tradition, others didnot.

The most notable example remains that of Jean-Luc Mlenchon, the outspoken, witty ex-Trotskyist defeated in the elections first round but who won 19percent of the vote. Although he urged his fellow leftists to support Chirac in 2002, Mlenchon has stubbornly refused to endorse Macron in the final round of this years vote.

Some on the far right, such as politician Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, have even endorsed Le Pen much to the chagrin of Frances conservative establishment.

Likewise, a growing number of anti-Le Pen voters have refused to lend their support to Macron, who many fault for the labor reforms he drafted as economy minister and who many on the left still see as too much of a neoliberal.

A poll released late Tuesday indicated that about 65 percent of Mlenchons supporters said they would not vote for Macron in the final round. As the gap narrows between Macron and Le Pen, many of the Mlenchon backers appear to lean toward leaving their presidential choice blank or staying home altogether.

[French voters face choice between hope and fear in runoff for presidency]

On Monday in Paris, thousands gathered for the annual International Workers Day union demonstrations. The largest of these events held in Pariss symbolic Place de la Republique, a vast pedestrian square whose center is a statue of Marianne, the avatar of the French Republic condemned Le Pen but stopped short of endorsing Macron for Sundays final round.

Im here because I want to say no to the National Front, but also because I want to say no to Macron, said Valrie, 53, a Mlenchon supporter and a nurse in a Paris public hospital who declined to give her last name. Whoever wins, there will be no one who defends the rights ofworkers.

There is no more Republican Front, said Hamid Djodi, 57, the owner of a cleaning company in Paris. He was standing in the Place de la Republique wearing a mask that had superimposed Marine Le Pens hair onto Jean-Marie LePens face.

For years, the right and left just divided the Republic with their disputes, and now there is little left. In 2002, we believed it, this idea of a Republican Front. But now we dont believe it anymore all you have is a capitalist running against a fascist.

Mosi said that the failures of the past three French presidents Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Franois Hollande to reconcile French citizens with the political process is one reason that relatively few are protesting this year.

The political atmosphere has greatly deteriorated since 2002. Suffering and anger have grown so much since that time, and these two emotions explain the fact that no one is in the streets as they were in 2002.

Valrie, the Mlenchon supporter, said that in 2002 she had voted for Chirac, who was ultimately much more of a traditional conservative than Macron, whose platform has sought to blend economic reforms with social liberalism.

Macron is far too much on the right just look at his labor reforms, she said, referring to a slew of changes Macron advocated last year, which he had promised would stimulate a stagnant economy by injecting more competition into the workplace.

I protested against that, and so Im protesting against him.

Despite slight fluctuations in the past week, most still place Macron winning nearly 60 percent of the vote in the second round, with Le Pen taking close to 40 percent.

Even if unsuccessful, Le Pen will probably win a significant percentage of the vote, Djodi said, and the Republican Front will have failed in its mission.

That family doesnt change like father like daughter, he said, gesturing to his mask.

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Where is France's famed 'Republican Front' in 2017? - Washington Post