Le Pen-Macron: the unknowns of the ballot

This article is published in number 16 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until April 19, 2022

M.Arine Le Pen, in the third race for the presidency of the French Republic, is 53 years old, has three children and a heavy surname, has some difficulty finding love, loves cats (she has 6) and lives in the countryside with an old friend. Until a few months ago, few knew these details of her private life. To put them on en scène, during the election campaign, it was her. “They call it the process of de-diabolization»Explains Alexis, a 22-year-old student, as she waits to vote at the Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois nursery school. “Le Pen wanted to be more human. But when she speaks, I don’t believe a single word, ”she says. Paris has never been Le Pen’s electoral stronghold and again it is not. The news, however, is that it is no longer even that of Emmanuel Macron. On Sunday morning, walking towards the Hôtel de Ville, the queues for the monuments far exceeded those for the seats. The election does not warm the hearts of the capital. “Vale pas la peine d’attendreIt’s not worth waiting for, shouts a girl on a bicycle, mocking those in line for the vote in the 5th arrondissement.

At the end of the day, the polls gave France a déjà-vu: Le Pen in the ballot on April 24 against Macron. However, those who expect the challenge to be a re-edition of the 2017 one are wrong. “Three factors make the difference,” observes Raphaël Llorca, the political analyst he curated Le Pen dossier. Idéologie, image, électorat. “The first is that Macron emerged weakened by the yellow vest riots, the pandemic and, now, the war in Ukraine. The second is Éric Zemmour, candidate furthest to the right of Le Pen. The votes he has won will go to her today. Most importantly, Zemmour, with her radical stances, allowed Marine to present herself as moderate. This third factor is perhaps the most influential: Marine’s sympathy operation, ”she concludes. While Zemmour criticized the reception of Ukrainian refugees, Le Pen declared herself “honored to open the doors to them”. When Zemmour confirmed that he dreamed of “a French Putin”, Le Pen ordered her entourage to destroy the election leaflets that portrayed her smiling, during her visit to the Kremlin in 2017, right next to Vladimir Putin.

Marine – this is how her constituents now call her, by name – has often been able to intercept the sentiment of the French during the electoral campaign, softening the tone when necessary. Her program, however, remained the same as always. “You don’t talk about Frexit anymore, but you still want to get us away from Europe,” says Julien, a 53-year-old computer scientist I know in front of the Elysée building the morning after the vote. «You are against the common European debt, he wants an alliance with Russia on security, he wants to prevent Islamic women from wearing the veil in public. She is dangerous ». The external entrance to the Elysée is barred.

From the gate you can see the courtyard and the main entrance on which the European flag flies between two French flags. Julien says: «Do you know what is the first thing Marine Le Pen promised to do as president? Remove EU flags from government buildings. Take a good look at her: it could be one of the last times he sees her there ».

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