After a shock defeat in France’s legislative elections, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) will double down on eliminating problematic candidates to counter successful efforts by mainstream parties to block the far-right from power.
Polls had suggested the RN would secure the most seats in the two-round snap election that French President Emmanuel Macron called after Le Pen’s party emerged the clear winner of the European parliamentary vote in June.
However, the RN ended up in third place, with its hopes of forming France’s first far-right government since World War II dashed by centrist and left-wing parties, including the far left, who withdrew around 200 conflicting candidacies to unify the anti-RN vote.
The strategy, known as the “republican front”, is a feature of French political life and has been used for decades to block the RN’s power.
RN officials and lawmakers who spoke to Reuters believe the party can overcome this electoral barrier by becoming more professional, following the path set by Le Pen after she lost the 2017 presidential election to Macron. That means more screening of potential candidates and stricter party discipline to avoid gaffes that cost too much politically, they said.
In the run-up to the vote, media reports revealed a RN candidate who had been photographed wearing a Nazi cap and another who sought to defend herself against the party’s history of racism and anti-Semitism by saying it had a Jewish ophthalmologist and a Muslim dentist. After the vote, a newly elected RN lawmaker was expelled from the party’s parliamentary group for saying that French Arabs had no place in government.
“We have to avoid these casting mistakes that cost us dearly and clearly harm us,” said Julien Masson, an RN official in Brittany.
Heads have already started to roll, with Gilles Pennelle, a member of the European Parliament, resigning from his role as the RN executive in charge of overseeing candidate lists.
“He was blamed for candidates who weren’t good, who weren’t up to par,” Masson said.
Pennelle did not respond to requests for comment.
Two RN lawmakers told Reuters there would be more media training to avoid a repeat of embarrassing interviews in which candidates appeared amateurish.
RN lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy said the party was judged by an unfair standard but acknowledged it needed to do better.
“There is always a need for improvement,” he told Reuters, adding that Le Pen’s 28-year-old protégé Jordan Bardella would soon announce proposals to resolve “organisational problems”.
Christophe Gervasi, who conducts private polling for the RN, said that in addition to inexperienced and undisciplined recruits, the party’s tendency to be vague and inconsistent in policy proposals has damaged its credibility.
The party pledges to reduce immigration, cut fuel costs and get tougher on crime, common themes among far-right populist parties, but has abandoned previous positions questioning membership of the European Union and NATO.
Gervasi said that it would not be an easy task for RN to overcome the Republican front.
“There are endemic structural weaknesses that persist,” he said. “The system is defending itself against the RN’s rise to power.”
Patrick Weil, a far-right historian, said he doubted a deep cleansing of the RN would be enough to crush the Republican front. Much will depend on how the future government develops and who runs in the 2027 election, in which Le Pen is expected to make her fourth attempt at the presidency.
“If someone popular runs, Marine le Pen will be defeated. If someone very unpopular runs, she will be elected,” he said.
Adélaïde Zulfikarpasic of the BVA Xsight pollsters said the surprising solidity of the Republican front, which many predicted would crumble in this election, underscored the lingering unease with the far right.
“RN is definitely still a little scary,” she said. “The demonization of it hasn’t ended.”
High tide?
Sunday’s result was not a complete disaster for the RN, which nearly doubled its seats in the National Assembly. The party won nearly a third of the popular vote, a record for the RN in parliamentary elections.
The party can now watch from the opposition benches as centrist and left-wing parties, with no tradition of coalition building, guide France through a period of political instability.
This could benefit RN ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The tide is rising, but this time it has not risen enough,” Le Pen said on Sunday. “Our victory is just delayed.”
The day after the vote, Bardella acknowledged that the party had made mistakes, including in choosing some of its candidates, but said the seeds of victory had been planted.
Towns like Nangis, located about 75 km southeast of Paris in the agricultural Brie plain, give hope to the RN.
The electorate was in the hands of the dominant conservative right for 66 years, until the RN finally took it away.
Isabelle Martin, a 52-year-old administrative worker, was among the locals who voted for the RN. She was disappointed that the main parties had combined to prevent the RN from winning power at the national level, an arrangement she described as “les magouilles,” or dirty deals. But she predicted that the resulting political chaos would benefit the RN.
“The others have three years to prove they can do something good,” Martin said. “If they don’t achieve that by 2027, then maybe (RN) has a chance.”
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
