IN many respects, the spectacular success of Jean-Marie Le Pen in the race for the Presidency is a peculiarly French phenomenon.

He was helped on his way to the final round of voting by the vagaries of an electoral system which allowed 16 candidates to run for the highest office in the republic, the propensity of a substantial minority of the French population to seek solace from the far right in times of economic troubles, and the unpopularity of President Chirac.

That the present incumbent, while being one of the most unpopular presidents of modern times, is likely to be elected with the largest majority on record, merely adds to the bewilderment of French politics.

But the success of Le Pen, and the likely success of his National Front party in June's Assembly elections, has repercussions beyond the borders of France.

The rise of the far right is not uniquely French. In Austria, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Switzerland, extreme nationalists have flourished at the polls.

Even in this country, we must not overlook the fact that the British National Party gained 16 per cent of the vote in Oldham West at the General Election.

The far right traditionally thrives in adverse social and economic conditions. But this only partially explains the outcome of elections in Europe.

The nationalists have also benefited from the growing disillusionment in mainstream politics and in mainstream politicians, reflected in the recent spate of low turn-outs in elections across the Western world.

By their very nature, fanatics flock to the extremes of politics. And fanatics always vote for their cause. The apathetic and disillusioned stay at home.

There are lessons in France to be learned by other countries.

Democracy must never be taken for granted, because history shows that extremists take advantage of such complacency.

In France, it is obvious that neither President Chirac nor Prime Minister Jospin have been able to engage with their public. They are widely perceived as both aloof and remote, more interested in their own future than that of their country.

How to engage the public is the challenge of the centre-right and centre-left parties of Europe.

And perhaps the shock of Le Pen's progress will be their wake-up call to rise to that challenge.