There are some beautiful people this June 14, 2019 in the very chic Salon des Miroirs in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. On the right side of the room, Éric Zemmour fills his glass, and observes, from afar, Philippe de Villiers twirling around in the audience. Near the stained glass windows, Marion Maréchal chats with her friend and still editorial director of Current Values Geoffroy Lejeune. Between two gildings, we also see the political scientist Alexandre Del Valle and the philosopher Chantale Delsol, idols of conservative right circles, who exchange a few words. Welcome to the Institute of Political Training (IFP) which is celebrating its 15th anniversary that evening, and as many years spent breaking down the barriers between the different currents of the hard right. This is Alexandre Pesey, its founder. At the microphone, the event organizer congratulates himself. In front of the audience of guests, he laughs: “I see that the filthy beast is still fertile.” Laughter in the assembly. He continues: “I am coming out this evening and officially announce to you that we do not regret in any way having chosen Charles Gave (entrepreneur known in right-wing circles, Editor’s note) over Jacques Attali.” The public is delighted.
Well known to the small ecosystem of the Parisian right, the IFP was founded in 2004, co-founded by Thomas Million, business leader and son of former minister Charles Million (who notably participated in the launch of the ‘Eric Zemmour in 2021), Jean Martinez, lawyer, and Alexandre Pesey. The latter comes from an activist background, having worked with the UNI, the Student Renewal (student unions respectively close to the UMP at the time and the National Front), and the very identified Corpo de Droit of the Faculty of Assas (Paris II). For a time, he hesitated to enter politics. In the 1990s, he created a small association in Assas, a sort of right-wing anars antechamber, pompously named “Les fils de la pétaudière”. Finally, he flew to Washington, where he worked for a few years as a journalist. There, he discovered a fascination for the influence of think tanks and returned to France with a fixed idea: the need to contribute to the “war of ideas”, to make a counter-discourse heard, the famous “gramscism right”, mantra of the last decades of the identity right.
“Objective: Create links between young people from different right-wing sensibilities”
The objective of the new school is threefold: to create links between young people from various right-wing sensibilities, to train them on the practical aspects of activism, and to encourage them to become involved, politically or associatively, as long as they are heard. in the public sphere. If the premises are rather liberal, the idea today is to offer a training school which is neither too liberal, nor too conservative, nor too identitarian. Year after year, the establishment makes its place in the small milieu of the hard right and pursues its goal: to form a pool of activists ready for use and eager to get involved in the different political and media spheres of the RIGHT.
Some personalities contribute to it. Benoît Perrin, operational director of the school and founder of Taxpayers Associated, a lobby at war against public spending, has an important network and open forums in several conservative media. He was part of the first meetings, in 2021, around a possible candidacy of Eric Zemmour for the presidential election. On the investor side, there is the financier Charles Gave, also a supporter of Eric Zemmour before distancing himself, or the entrepreneur Pierre-Edouard Stérin, who from time to time organizes networking evenings between actors from the Catholic associative world and political leaders. right-wing and far-right.
“Jordan Bardella, Eric Ciotti, Eric Zemmour, François-Xavier Bellamy…”
At the IFP, there is no question of talking about a “sanitary cordon”. Alexandre Pesey denies any partisan affiliation, a position that allows him to cast a wide net in parties, from the Republicans to the National Rally. In around twenty years, the discreet school located in the 16th arrondissement has established itself as a hub in the “right outside the walls” ecosystem. Jordan Bardella, Eric Ciotti, Eric Zemmour, François-Xavier Bellamy, Marion Maréchal, Philippe de Villiers… They all went to “IFP Mondays”, a regular meeting where guests give a conference on conquered terrain.
We have to go back to 2012 to see the real growth of this school. France is torn apart over homosexual marriage. In the processions, members of the Republicans, the National Front, and more confidential right-wing or far-right parties. An entire conservative youth group experiences its counter-May 68, and discovers that ideas can converge between political groups. Among them, profiles like Samuel Lafont and Vivien Hoch, figures of the Manif pour tous, from the IFP, advertise it. Word of mouth works, the establishment becomes known and applications begin to flow in.
“From Charlotte d’Ornellas to Dominique Venner”
Shortly after, Alexandre Pesey opened his mailbox. “Hello, my name is Marion Maréchal, and I would like to attend an IFP training course.” The niece of Marine Le Pen, just elected MP, has joined the ranks of the school to complete her training. When he talks about his former students, Alexandre Pesey has the air of a stamp collector, delighted to see this network that he cherishes so much grow. Today he claims 3000 “listeners”. “We were lucky to have Marion, it’s true that we didn’t have Jordan (editor’s note: Bardella). It must be said that at the time he was at the FNJ, they didn’t like fool around with us…”.
This is no longer the case. At the IFP, we come across everything, as long as we’re on the right. The final result offers a funny class photo. In the corridors, personalities from the traditional political world, from the Republicans, Reconquest, or the National Rally, rub shoulders. But also journalists from right-wing media, such as journalists, former Current Values, Charlotte d’Ornellas (who also gave her name to a promotion) and Laurent Dandrieu, or certain writers from Figaro Vox like Paul Sugy and Eugénie Bastié. Others, too, less frequented, gave some conferences. Bernard Lugan, far-right essayist, star of the Nouvelle Librairie (identity bookstore located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris), came to present his latest book. Jean-Yves Le Gallou, founder of the very right-wing Club de l’Horloge has his napkin ring there, as does his friend Yvan Blot (now deceased). And, last but not least, Dominique Venner, martyr of the modern far-right, had added his name to the list of speakers during his lifetime. On February 20, it was Jordan Bardella who we found in the premises on rue du Ranelagh in front of a handful of listeners. The president of the RN seeks to persuade them: it is only within the far-right party that they will be able to “make their ideas win”. Convinced, several Republican activists discreetly slipped him their cards.
“From liberal beginnings to an identity trend”
Since its conservative and liberal beginnings, the IFP has been able to adapt its offering to a new audience. In the alumni network, many have joined the ranks of the Zemmour 2022 campaign. Stanislas Rigault, the head of Génération Z, followed the training, received several prizes from the school and worked for the IFP, as ” network manager. Samuel Lafont, responsible for the polemicist’s social networks, is a regular at the establishment. Frontists, too, passed through there. Several close friends of Jordan Bardella, such as his former colleague Luc Lahalle, or his chief of staff Arthur Perrier attended the training. Pierre-Romain Thionnet, occasional pen of the president of the RN and responsible for the party’s youth, provided training there. Pierre Gentillet, lawyer who appears on CNEWS and friend of Jordan Bardella, helped out by replacing a speaker for legal training. Among the RN’s parliamentary collaborators in the Assembly, several profiles have followed IFP training. Ditto for the Republicans. The leader of the young LR, Guilhem Carayon, is one of the faithful of the establishment. In the activist ecosystem, we find profiles like those of Thaïs d’Escufon, specialized in reactionary tweets, anti-feminist and former Génération Identitaire, who received the recruitment prize. Alice Cordier, head of the far-right feminist association Némésis, received the Action Prize. The very right-wing student union La Cocarde also received honors from the IFP, which encourages any shocking initiative from young people in the identity sphere.
Today, each promotion contains a sample of trends from the most classic right to the most radical far-right. After the training, we have dinner in the premises, often with the trainers. The wine flows freely and we talk for long hours. On the right of the table, we ask ourselves: “Napoleon, tyrant or hero?” On the left we ask ourselves: Is Joan of Arc the greatest French female figure? While a little further away, the activists of the UNI and the Cockade (who hate each other profusely) each defend their parish. The evening ends and we are already thinking about the next event. Two programs to choose from: visit the European Parliament alongside François-Xavier Bellamy, or go and listen to Julien Rochedy, former president of the FN youth movement who became a Nietzche specialist who will be holding a show at “IFP Mondays”.