The phenomenon of the rise of the extreme right in France, a content-discursive comparative analysis of the National Front candidates in the presidential elections since 2002

The aim of this bachelor's thesis is the comparison of two presidential candidates, representing the French extreme-right party called National Front since 2002. Over the last few years, the popularity of National Front has been rising - M. Le Pen got into second round of presidential elections in 2017 and also, the party has been obtaining more and more seats in Parliament as a result of legislative elections. This work analyzes the development of the National Front in correlation with the "dediabolization" concept - mechanisms, that aims to normalize its rhetoric (erasing xenophobic and racist remarks, islamophobia and antisemitism). The thesis is focusing on populist elements, which can be seen in the discourse, but also as an ideology promoted by presidential candidates - party leaders representing party interests and goals on a national level. The analysis is divided into two parts - first of all, it is a comparative content analysis of political programs from 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017, based on four indicators, and in the second part, it is a discourse analysis of speeches from above-mentioned years. To conclude, the work summarizes the rhetorical refinement of M. Le Pen, in comparision with her father and the ways she presents information to the larger public (both in written, but also in..