Hollande told the daily Liberation newspaper ahead of the runoff that he saw the strong showing for the National Front as an expression of people's "social anger" rather than a firm adherence to the party's more extremist views.

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Socialist Francois Hollande, who is favored to win on May 6, told France's daily Liberation newspaper that he saw the strong showing for the National Front as an expression of people's "social anger" rather than a firm adherence to the party's more extremist views.

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The ease with which his expression resolved into hatred made it clear that anger was his default position.

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But you could say that the riots were a similar expression of the kind of second hand, unfocused anger Tony was writing about.

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Until May 13th, anger and frustration over the lack of reforms, jobs and freedom of expression were kept in check by the knowledge of Uzbekistan's abominable human-rights abuses and the existence of 6, 000 religious and political prisoners.

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