To understand the RN’s standardization strategy, La Loupe retraces throughout the week the key stages of this transformation carried out by Marine Le Pen. In this second episode, Marylou Magal, journalist in the Politics department of L’Express, explains to us the links that persist between the flame party and small far-right groups.
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The team: Charlotte Baris (presentation), Léa Bertrand (writing) Jules Krot (editing and direction)
Credits: BFMTV, Europe 1, France 3, France 5, France Culture, INA, Le Parisien, TF1
Music and dressing: Emmanuel Herschon/Studio Torrent
Logo: Jérémy Cambour
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Charlotte Baris: It is July 7, 2024. It is after 8 p.m. when a young activist burst into tears in the middle of an alley. At the Pavillon Chesnais du Roy, in the east of Paris, the slap in the face is gigantic. The executives of the National Rally discovered with horror the results of the legislative elections: only 143 seats. A week earlier, they were still dreaming of an absolute majority and of Jordan Bardella at Matignon. Here they are demoted to third place, behind the alliance of the left and that of the center.
The activists fold their blue, white and red flags. The party headquarters has been barricaded upstairs for several hours. It’s been days since they felt the wind turning. Withdrawals have multiplied to block the far right. The participation rate is historic. The frontist electorate mobilized… But that was not enough.
For Jordan Bardella, this defeat remains a victory. The RN brought more elected officials to the National Assembly than during its historic breakthrough in June 2022. That’s still 54 seats more. In the audience, an activist clutches his flag a little tighter and wipes the corner of his eye. If it wants to do better, particularly with a view to the 2027 presidential elections, the RN will have to learn the lessons of the legislative elections. Because the party remains a foil for some.
To go further:
La Loupe news: François Bayrou, the Fifth Republic and political disorder
“What could we have been arguing about Pétain”: the story of the “promo 93”, cradle of Le Pen’s lawyers
The RN sets its course for the coming year: “Let’s leave the excesses to Jean-Luc Mélenchon…”