Merkel's promise to host refugees in Germany led to an uncontrolled influx of foreigners across Europe. This in turn led to the rise of popularity among right-wing parties, including the National Front, Hureaux wrote for Atlantico.
"For many people voting for the National Front in the first round wasn't only the gesture of despair, but also a warning to those who was behind this imposed migration," Hureaux said, as cited by Atlantico.
Refugees continue to come to Europe because back in the summer Merkel openly stated that Germany would host everyone running from chaos in Syria.
Although most refugees are, of course, truly running for their lives; there are certainly those who try to migrate to the EU in search of better life using the situation in Syria, passing as refugees, the author said.
Last week, Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, eurosceptic party took political elites across Europe by surprise, winning 28 percent of the vote in the first-round of the regional elections.
The rise of attacks by Islamist extremists, combined with the migrant crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of immigrants arriving in the European Union, has created a solid platform for the National Front's anti-immigration policies.
The party advocates a dramatic reduction in legal immigration to France from the current 200,000 a year to 10,000, a ban on automatic immigration rights, in particular via joining a spouse or family member living in the country, toughening in requirements for the French citizenship, and priority to the French nationals in employment and social housing.
