Marine Le Pen the “mutant”, Jordan Bardela the “favourite”, Fabrice Lesery the “heartless ex-boss” of Frontex or, according to “Le Figaro”, the abandoned “outcast” of Paris who allied himself with the far-right National Coalition (RN ) for the June European elections. These are the (different) faces of the ascendant party of the French Far Right, which is walking the path of demonization that seems to be paying off.
According to opinion polls, in the European elections the National Rally can secure the highest percentages in its history, reaching 33% (10.3 points increase from the 2019 European elections).
The “transformation” of Marine Le Pen
Nothing happened at all. We are facing “Ovidian” transformations of Le Pen. Despite her Eurosceptic, nationalist and anti-immigration rhetoric, the leader of the French Far Right is gradually shedding the identitarian family burdens, going so far as to align even with those who until recently were considered her ideological enemies. It is not surprising that the lightning-bolt decision to participate, last Wednesday, in the “entry” ceremony of the communist hero of the French Resistance Mishak Manusian in the French Pantheon, studiously “forgetting” that the honoree embodies what the National Rally stands for – that is, communism and internationalism.
In the context of building a “moderate” profile, his 55-year-old daughter Jean-Marie Le Pen – founder of the National Front, who considered the Holocaust a “detail of history” – has made resounding “transgressions”: for example, she participated in last November’s pro-Israel march in Paris, protesting Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israel.
Although she continues to exploit anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim prejudices, her repudiation of her father’s extreme ideology results in the “establishment” and “normalization” of the National Rally in the French political landscape. The progress in the “normalization” processes is also reflected in the figures of the annual Verian-Epoka survey, according to which 34% of respondents believe that Le Pen “would be a good president of the Republic”.
“The majority of the French believe that the National Coalition is capable of governing, with reservations. However, the embankment was blown up” points out the expert in political communication Philippe Moreau Chevrolet.
Up-and-comer Jordan Bardela
In the likely victorious march of the RN to the presidential elections of 2027 in France, also contributes Bardellathe 28-year-old MEP who methodically rose through all the ranks of the party to its presidency (in 2022), starting with the youth of the National Front and speaking the “language” of social media.
“How far can it go?” asks “Le Monde” about the young president of the National Rally, whose rising popularity is also confirmed by his entry into the 30th position of the traditional “barometer” with the 50 favorite personalities of the French by IFOP, for “Le Journal du Dimanche » in early January.
“He turned out to be better than expected, but what always weighs is his personal relationship with Le Pen. He didn’t finish his studies, so he can do a lot but not aim so high as to make Le Pen worry,” comments a constitutional expert in “Vima”. Similarly, officials of the National Rally, although they acknowledge that Bardella has “become a brand”, exudes a “rock star feeling” and is “a familiar face in the depoliticized age of selfies”, at the same time point out the limits of the young man.
However, according to a recent report by “Le Monde”, the majority of voters of the National Rally advocate that Bardela, who has Italian and Algerian roots and grew up in one of the most deprived suburbs of Paris, would offer in the presidential elections of 2027 ” more opportunities’ than Le Pen, who ‘will eventually pay for her name and her past failures’.
“Bardela does not bear the name of Le Pen, he offers something new” underlines Chevrolet, observing that “the Le Pen brand is disappearing”, the National Rally “is becoming more institutional”, while we are witnessing “the great replacement of the traditional Right by the National Rally ».
From Frontex to the National Coalition
In the latter, it seems that his enlistment is also coming to contribute Casual, former executive director of Frontex (2015-2022), with a term in the ministries of the Interior and Defense of France, who, as it was announced, suddenly occupies the 3rd place on Bardela’s European ballot paper, while until recently he was in discussions with the right-wing Republican party. “It’s no surprise to anyone,” noted “Le Monde,” although the news “creates an unprecedented bridge between Europe’s top public administration and the Far Right.”
“Very good for the National Rally, disaster for the Republicans” commented the magazine “Le Point”. According to “Le Figaro”, Lezeri “has never been an idealist, nor an extremist”. The French newspaper believes that “the ingratitude of the State” finally pushed him “into the arms of the National Rally”, as he himself was looking for a role after resigning from Frontex, following complaints about his tolerant attitude to illegal repatriations of migrants.
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