France: The so-called ‘moderate’ Le Pen

The greatest achievement of the communicators accompanying Marin Le Pen was the diploma obtained by the “National Alarm” candidate as… cat trainer. Whenever she wants to send a personal message to the voters, Le Pen talks about her favorite big Bengal cats, which roam her living room. But even when she analyzes her political agenda, she projects a different picture than in the past. Her smile looks effortless, her voice less penetrating, her hairstyle less sophisticated. With a smile and inexhaustible patience, he travels to the poorest provinces of France, recording the protests of the voters for the low incomes, the insufficient pensions, the inflation that is galloping.

“Family affair” the National Front

Marine Le Pen had inherited the leadership of the far-right National Front from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. He first ran in the second round of the French presidential election in 2002 as leader of the far-right party, attracting the votes of nationalists and soldiers who lived through the Algerian War. His center-right opponent, Jacques Chirac, may have won the second round with a stunning 87%, but since then the National Front has remained a viable player on the political chessboard.

Marin Lepen took over the reins of the party in 2011. From the first moment, she tried to rid the “National Front” of the most extreme elements, of the most extreme references to the historical shame of fascism, as a result of which it came into conflict with its father. When Jean-Marie Le Pen went so far as to call the Nazi concentration camps a “detail of history”, Marine Le Pen did not hesitate to expel him from the party he founded. And in 2018, after the first defeat in the presidential election against Emmanuel Macron, Le Pen decided to make a fresh start, renaming the party “National Alarm”. Comparing the old with the “new” Le Pen, Jacques Rupnik, a professor of political science in Paris (Science Po Paris), points out: “Her style has changed a lot. She is less aggressive, she presents herself as a conventional political figure. But if see its program, it clearly contains all the demands of the ‘National Front’, which is basically an anti-immigrant party. But it has expanded its audience. It is now successfully focusing on social issues, for example the rising cost of living. ” .

Priority in the “social agenda”

Her father, as well as her niece, Marshall Le Pen, who also has political ambitions, criticize Marin Le Pen’s “moderate” turn. In fact, National Alarm voters were asked not to vote for her in the presidential election, but to prefer former journalist Eric Zemour, who appeared as a rising star in the election campaign with inflammatory slogans against foreigners and Islam. In the end, Zemour failed to get more than 7% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election. But for Marine Le Pen, the “demonization” effort seems to have been successful. of the National Alarm has all the specifications to be elected President of France. Now Marin Le Pen is trying to reach out to even the voters of the left Jean-Luc Melanson, from whom she almost lost the second place and the “ticket” for the second round of elections.

In all the pre-election events, Lepen is now focusing on social issues, such as increases in pensions, financial aid for needy students and families, and the containment of inflation. He speaks of a “patriotic economy” that will give priority to the national interest. He promises financial aid to everyone, but without revealing who will finance them. The issue of the war in Ukraine is not raised to a large extent, as Lepen maintains privileged relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. She says she condemns the war in Ukraine and welcomes sending military aid to Kyiv, but insists on keeping equal distances from Russia and the United States. As science politician Jacques Rupnik points out, “he is not talking about the war, he is talking about the consequences of the war. He is saying ‘I will protect you from the consequences of the war’, gas ‘,’ I will stop inflation. ‘As if he were a magician, he claims he will stop inflation.’

“Europe of the Nations”

The traditional announcement to leave the EU and the euro, which had probably “scared” many voters in the 2017 presidential election, is now being withdrawn from the National Alarm election program. Now Marin Le Pen says she wants to stay in the EU, but that it must be transformed into a “Europe of Nations”. It will be a relaxed framework for transnational cooperation, without a dynamic of unification, without a common European defense. But a closer look reveals that Le Pen is in fact seeking the disintegration of the EU, as, among other things, it does not accept the primacy of European law over national law, while demanding that social benefits and allowances be paid only to the “born French”. All this is not in line with the basic principles of the EU, as we know it today.

Barbara Wesel

Edited by: Giannis Papadimitriou

Source: Deutsche Welle