Draped in an unusual gray veil, Marseille hosted the National Rally’s campaign launch meeting for the European elections on Sunday (March 3). Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen insisted on the civilizational aspects of Europe that they defend.
“France is coming back, Europe is coming back to life”could be read in large letters on the screens of a packed room of 5,000 to 8,000 supporters and activists of the flame party, depending on the count. “I don’t know if other political figures than Jordan Bardella today bring as many people to travel”says a young local party executive.
It must be said that the star of the meeting is him, Jordan Bardella, the president of the RN and head of the party’s list for the European elections.
“They come for him, not necessarily for the RN”, continues the frame. Its simple appearance on the screens triggers, especially among young people, an unreasonable jubilation, which almost makes us forget that in Marseille, the flame party is not on conquered ground, far from it.
First, the city is led by a socialist mayor. Then, in 2017, the leader of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, made it the stronghold of his deputation.
In 2022, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, gave a long speech on ecology, a marker of his presidential campaign.
The same year, the only RN senator from Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille region) at the time, Stéphane Ravier, joined the far-right Reconquête! whose head of list in the European elections is none other than Marion Maréchal, niece of Marine Le Pen.
European civilization
Marseille is also a civilizational symbol.
The Phocaean city, a Mediterranean commercial and cultural beacon for more than three millennia, reminds Mr. Bardella of his Italian origins, he confided in a report broadcast on France 2 mid-January.
The speech was an opportunity to link his history to that of a common Europe of which the EU, according to him, should be “this coat that protects”rather than an organization « punitive »criticizing the program carried out between 2019 and 2024 by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, whose simple mention by Marine Le Pen a few minutes before caused the crowd to go wild, copiously booing the “technocrat”. « Creve von der Leyen! » we even heard, shouted from the front row by a visibly angry sixty-year-old.
Mr. Bardella attacked the Green Deal and the Asylum and Migration Pact in particular.
By causing the “agricultural decline” and the “migratory submergence”they would in fact have engaged “who we are and who we want to be”as much “that they call into question work on the one hand, and the identity of France on the other”he said.
Therefore, the head of the list considers that “few elections will shape the future like the ones to come”. “There are no small elections, and this one comes less than any other”confirmed Ms. Le Pen.
Geopolitics
The three-time candidate in the presidential elections mainly focused on the geopolitical positions taken by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, in recent weeks, in particular on the sending of troops to Ukraine.
From this position “France also emerged totally isolated; all capitals from Berlin to Washington, from Madrid to Stockholm, have firmly rejected this announcement, which is as resounding as it is unreasonable.she regretted.
Ms. Le Pen even accuses Mr. Macron of wanting ” withdraw “ to France “assets of his power” since “it is our nuclear deterrent or our seat on the UN Security Council that he [Emmanuel Macron] wants to pool for the benefit of the EU”she said.
The EU is accused of wanting to do ” disappear […] our memory ». As evidenced by a europarliamentary resolution adopted in January which would seek to “revisit” the history of the EU.
The mention of this non-legally binding text also allows Ms. Le Pen to launch a dig against the head of the Les Républicains list, François-Xavier Bellamy, who abstained from voting on this text.
This could also be attested to by the RN MEPs present in Marseille such as Jean-Lin Lacapelle, Eric Minardi, Thierry Mariani, André Rougé, Philippe Olivier and even Catherine Griset, well placed in the front row.
Jean-Paul Garraud, president of the RN group in the European Parliament, was due to attend the meeting, but was ultimately held back for family reasons, Euractiv France has learned.
In other words, these elections will be an opportunity for “return of peoples and Nations”, according to Marine Le Pen, thanks to nationalist and/or sovereignist rights which are gaining ground in France, Germany, but also in Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, and even Italy. Members of other delegations from the Identity and Democracy group in which the RN sits in the European Parliament were also present. Euractiv France actually came across a collaborator of the Italian party Lega.
And although this « Europe des Nations » does not take place outside the framework of the EU, clarified Mr. Bardella, observersparticularly within the government, pointed out that no EU flag appeared alongside the French flag behind the speech lectern.
2024-03-04 06:57:39
#Europeans #attacks #campaign #Marseille #angle #civilizational #Europe
