French politician Edwige Diaz recently received a text message. That was shocking. She is a prominent member of Marine Le Pen’s party. And the text came from the party of Le Pen’s great rival: presidential candidate Éric Zemmour. The text read: “Join us. Then you can participate in the parliamentary elections. And we will take care of you financially.”
Presidential elections will be held in France in April and parliamentary elections two months after that. And especially between right-wing parties, an open political war is now raging. The radical right-wing Éric Zemmour tries to lure politicians and administrators from his rivals. With text messages, political declarations of love and promises.
Even Marine Le Pen’s niece is now at the forefront of the fray. Marion Maréchal Le Pen is young, politically active, popular and ambitious and she said she “tends” to support Éric Zemmour, not her own aunt.
Zemmour then gave an interview to glossy Elle and threw out the best bait he had. “If Marion joins me, campaigns with me, she could become prime minister.”
Edwige Diaz did not succumb to Zemmour’s advances, and Marion Maréchal Le Pen is still deliberating, but many others have made the switch in recent weeks. At least ten prominent politicians from Marine Le Pen’s party have turned their backs on her and are now campaigning with Zemmour.
Banging doors
These include MEP and ‘party intellectual’ Gilbert Collard, Senator Stéphane Ravier and MEP and campaign worker Jérôme Rivière.
One of the last defectors was Nicolas Bay, spokesman for Marine Le Pen during the current election campaign. His departure came with slamming doors. Le Pen accused Bay of high treason and espionage: he would have passed on campaign information from Le Pen to Zemmour shortly before his switch.
Over political peak
Many of the defectors think that Le Pen has become too ‘soft’. They want the arrows during the campaign to focus primarily on Islam and extremism. And Zemmour does that much more than Le Pen. “They think I’m talking too much about purchasing power and that I should start a religious war instead,” Le Pen said.
Critics also often think that Marine Le Pen is past her political peak. She lost the presidential election to Macron five years ago and had a poor score in the regional elections last year. “Marine Le Pen is no longer able to win presidential elections,” said one of the defectors, MEP Jérôme Rivière.
Zemmour can win, the leavers think. And if he wins, that also offers prospects: a job, or perhaps even a ministerial post, or a good income; see the promises to Edwige Diaz and Marion Maréchal Le Pen. Some of the defectors are simply looking for security for the future.
On the heels
The departure of party leaders and also of regional and local administrators could turn out badly for Marine Le Pen. Her party is losing people with political knowledge and experience. Moreover, supporters of Le Pen could follow the example of the defectors, drawn to the smell of success.
It is still difficult to determine what the consequences will be for Éric Zemmour’s campaign. The directors who defect can certainly also take voters with them in their wake. But Zemmour is also very clearly looking for moderate right-wing voters. And they often have nothing to do with Marine Le Pen and her party. If Le Pen directors defect to Zemmour, it could drive those moderate Zemmour voters away again.
Current President Emmanuel Macron leads the polls and Marine Le Pen is second. But Éric Zemmour has been on a steady rise since the end of January when the ’empty’ at Le Pen began and he is now electorally close behind Le Pen.
At the end of last year there were disturbances at a protest against Zemmour:
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