2023 is coming to an end. A strange carriage appears on Place Dauphine in Paris. He rushes inside the Caveau du Palais, the Bar’s favorite restaurant. Around the table, the former Minister of the Economy Arnaud Montebourg, the lawyer and National Rally MEP Alexandre Varaut, Basile Ader, former vice-president of Paris, Me Rodolphe Bosselut, appointed lawyer of Marine Le Pen, Maître Pascale Lalère , specialist in family law, or Nicolay Fakiroff, lawyer, also from the far-right party.
On this day, the small group celebrates a birthday. 30 years ago, they joined the same promotion of the Internship Conference, a famous eloquence competition, the absolute Holy Grail for any beginning lawyer. Since then, they have gotten into the habit of meeting up once or twice a year. The atmosphere is warm, the table lively. We’re joking. “For my Legion of Honor, you will address Marine!”, laughs a guest. “Marine” is Marine Le Pen.
They have all come a long way in three decades. Some did it side by side. Today Alexandre Varaut, Rodolphe Bosselut and Nicolay Fakiroff assist Marine Le Pen in the so-called “parliamentary assistants” case, the trial of which opened on September 30 at the Paris Criminal Court. “It’s the mafia of conference secretaries,” laughs Alexandre Varaut. The affair does not make everyone laugh. “I won’t come to this dinner, they’re all fascists,” said Arnaud Montebourg, one of the former classmates. The disappointed socialist considers that political disagreements have no place in this 30-year-old friendship, the history of which began in 1993.
“Promo 93”
We are under Mitterrand. They are in their thirties, and young lawyers. With varied profiles to say the least. Alexandre Varaut, hired at the time alongside Philippe de Villiers, followed in the footsteps of his father, Jean-Marc, first secretary of the 1959 class, and trainee of Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancourt (lawyer and far-right candidate in the 1965 presidential election). He quickly became friends with Rodolphe Bosselut, son of the RPR mayor of Font-Romeu, who is defined as “right-wing” but who does not intend to pursue a career in politics. Arnaud Montebourg, socialist activist since 1985, remembers lively debates in the promotion: “I remember that we often had heated discussions on the subject, what could we have been arguing about about Pétain !” Alexandre Varaut tell having seen the former minister intone “Marshal here we come!”, “in the second degree obviously”, during a conference dinner. “Nicolay Fakiroff, he was the obvious far-right white Russian,” comments a former comrade. “He was viscerally anti-communist, it was a kind of style, it was very aesthetic.” In short, summarizes Montebourg: “It was a very politicized promotion, we laughed a lot, but always with a lot of kindness.”
The socialist becomes valedictorian. At the time, he commanded the admiration of his peers. Notably that of Rodolphe Bosselut, whom he surpasses during an oratorical duel. “The subject was: does the public domain belong to everyone? For my level, I had given a good speech. I sat down again. And I quickly understood that humility must always be remembered by you. Arnaud gave a speech terrible, funny, brilliant, fine”, recalls Bosselut in the columns of GQ. A strong bond is formed between comrades. Arnaud Montebourg will become the godfather of Rodolphe Bosselut’s son, and this unusual promotion brings a smile to the Parisian Bar.
Marine Le Pen and “the conf”
Others at the time dreamed of joining the conference. A young lawyer in particular. She works alongside the lawyer and Frontist MP Georges-Paul Wagner, and her name is Marine Le Pen. In the corridors of the Palace of Justice, many people refuse to speak to him. It’s not always good to be the daughter of the “devil of the Republic”. Alexandre Varaut and Rodolphe Bosselut do not have this modesty and willingly shake his hand in front of the press room. Marine Le Pen gets into the habit of being friends with former “conf” secretaries. Often, she goes to the table of elders at the palace refreshment bar, where Nicolay Fakiroff is regularly found, who worked at the time alongside Jean-Baptiste Biaggi, a close friend of Jean-Marie Le Pen. Contact happens naturally. Marine le Pen wants to give it a try. Former secretaries dissuade him. The episode was reported in L’Express. “You’re going to get massacred, don’t go there,” Jean Balan advises him. “If you run, you must distance yourself politically from your father from your first speech,” Chabert warns. “You’re an idiot, you don’t understand anything,” she retorts. She finally gives up, convinced that she would have no chance of being accepted. She maintains close contact with the few former secretaries. Those in particular from the class of 1993.
One day in 2016, Alexandre Varaut’s phone rang. Marine Le Pen on the line. The offices of the National Front have just been raided for suspicion of fictitious employment in Strasbourg. She needs a lawyer. Confidence is better – he has already been working for the far-right party for two years. Who knows how the European Parliament works, ideally. Sold. The former villa maker is starting to work on the file. And participates in the constitution of the defense team. This case requires what he calls FN-compatible lawyers. “There is a political logic behind it, you know that if you do a good job, you help improve the image of the RN and its position,” claims Alexandre Varaut. That’s good, he knows a few profiles. His friend Rodolphe Bosselut, of course, who already worked with Marine Le Pen. Nicolay Fakiroff, also, recommended by the boss.
The Conference, a recruitment pool for the RN
The Conference is a fantastic place for networking and a quality breeding ground for those who know how to use it. Yann Le Pen wants to change lawyers? Thibault de Montbrial no longer suits him? – “It’s very expensive and doesn’t do much,” says a kind colleague. Never mind, we know a little young man very well: Grégoire Etrillard, class of 2011. Alexandre Varaut, elected to the European Parliament, can no longer provide defense as a lawyer? Solange Doumik, class of 1995, will do the job very well. The puzzle is completed over the course of the indictments, and the frontists willingly draw from among the former secretaries who meet regularly at the home of lawyer François Wagner, avenue de la Grande Armée, to prepare for the trial. Marine Le Pen makes a few appearances.
Former secretaries are also joining the lists of candidates. Pascale Pierra, member of the 1995 class, appears on the RN list for the European elections, and is elected to the European Parliament on June 9. Francis Szpiner, president of the Conference association, can’t believe it: “It’s unbelievable! The fact that lawyers now appear with the RN label or as sympathizers is a real turning point in standardization of the party.” The lawyers in question, for their part, are enjoying it. “There are some who will choke at the Conference when reading your paper,” rejoices Alexandre Varaut. Within the class of 1993, however, no one was surprised to discover the names of their comrades next to that of Marine Le Pen. The WhatsApp loop continues to live. Recently, Arnaud Montebourg was even praised by the frontist trio for his interview of April 14, 2024 in Le Figaro. “Excellent interview, I could have signed it,” laughed Alexandre Varaut. The Caveau du Palais can rest assured, the dinners are not about to stop.
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