Following the European elections, Czech President Petr Pavel has expressed concern about the rise of parties on the fringes of the political spectrum in parts of the continent. “What we cannot ignore is the rise in support for extremists in Europe,” the former general wrote on Monday on the social media platform X. “We must recognize these voices and think about why this is happening.” He expressed the hope that the basic orientation of the European Union in terms of security and democracy would nevertheless remain unchanged. Pavel did not name any specific parties. In France, the right-wing n…