And in the middle of the aisle, a young activist suddenly bursts into tears, her head in her hands. The slap is gigantic, this Sunday evening, at the Pavillon Chesnais du Roy, in eastern Paris. The executives and activists of the National Rally discover with horror the result of the legislative elections. Between 130 and 150 seats, only according to the first projections, for the far-right party, which only a week earlier was dreaming of an absolute majority and Jordan Bardella at Matignon. So here it is, demoted to third place, behind the New Popular Front and Ensemble, the presidential alliance. “It’s a nightmare, it’s a nightmare,” repeats an activist as she puts down her petit four. Another folds up his blue, white, and red flag, grabs his wife’s arm: “Come on, darling, let’s get out of here!”
On the giant screen hanging above the stage, François Hollande’s face appears. The former socialist president is elected in Corrèze. Another blow for the young activist who redoubles her tears. Faces are frozen as the result was so unexpected. “We already thought that 240 deputies would be a disappointment, but then 140…”, laments an elected official. The party’s headquarters, for its part, has been barricaded upstairs for several hours. For several days, he had felt the wind change, the withdrawals multiplying to block the extreme right and the absolute majority moving further and further away.
But no one expected such a drop in such a short time. And how can we explain it? Unlike the 2021 regional elections, another memory of defeat for the RN, the turnout (67.5%) is historic. The National Front electorate mobilized well. But it was not enough. The RN recorded symbolic defeats, such as that of Marie-Caroline Le Pen, Marine Le Pen’s sister, in the former stronghold of François Fillon. Is the party to blame, then? Programmatic approximations, extremist profiles of the candidates? Difficult to recognize. Find another explanation, quickly.
“Obviously we are disappointed, I am not going to tell you that it is a victory”
Jordan Bardella cuts through the crowd. Less smiling than usual, he takes the floor for a short speech, and puts things into perspective. “The National Rally has made the most significant breakthrough in its history,” proclaims the president of the far-right party, which has indeed brought more elected representatives into the National Assembly than during its historic breakthrough in June 2022. “The RN therefore embodies more than ever the only alternative, in the face of the single party that stretches from Philippe Poutou to Edouard Philippe,” continues Jordan Bardella. In the audience, a young activist clutches his flag a little tighter and wipes the corner of his eye. “I want to say here that the wind of hope has risen and will never stop blowing, tonight it all begins!” concludes the MEP abruptly demoted to his parliamentary mandate. “And to think that he could have been at Matignon…” sighs a supporter, turning on his heels.
Off camera, the executives’ speech is less enthusiastic. “Of course we are disappointed, I’m not going to tell you that it’s a victory,” an elected official complains. Already, people are turning around, looking for the culprit. Was it a good idea to claim that the “Matignon Plan” responsible for investing candidates in the legislative elections was ready, when dozens of Front National candidates were singled out for their problematic, racist, anti-Semitic remarks? Was the party ready as it claimed? “We were ready logistically speaking, but we have to see how it went locally…, how the MEP and close friend of Jordan Bardella, Mathilde Androuet. We have proven that we know how to improve, to become more professional, it’s not going to stop, these are all tasks that we will continue to tackle.”
Take stock
“We are ready, we are preparing every day,” Jordan Bardella repeated throughout his campaign. A failed bet. The glass ceiling seems to be made of reinforced concrete this Sunday, and the prospect of governing has vanished. Some are playing the veterans: “I never believed that we could win a legislative election outside of the presidential election, Marine Le Pen’s victory will be such a breath of fresh air that it will erase everything.”
We even start to project ourselves into the long term, we are used to it, at the RN. “We have laid the foundations for tomorrow’s victories, the future belongs to us”, swears the MEP and advisor to Marine Le Pen, Philippe Olivier. Heading for 2027, then, and everyone behind Marine Le Pen. The defeat will probably have to be atoned for, but the National Front member is spared, she was not the face of this campaign and is not making a speech to the activists this Sunday. “I know one, on the other hand, who is going to get yelled at”, believes a leader, targeting a certain Jordan Bardella. The party team, in any case, will be asked to take stock of this short, devastating campaign. “It will also allow us to renew the teams, to have a firmer strategy on investiture issues, more training too”, assures Mathilde Androuet.
Some, however, are relieved. This is the case of Béatrice Roullaud, re-elected in the 6th constituency of Seine-et-Marne. Not all the outgoing Front National deputies were so lucky, like Grégoire de Fournas, who was punished in the Assembly for his “let him go back to Africa”, defeated in the Médoc. “I am re-elected, fortunately, it is my mandate, and it should not have been stolen from me!”, triumphs Béatrice Roullaud. She also believes in an upcoming victory. She even concludes by quoting Victor Hugo: “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come”. Finally, she believes it is Victor Hugo, but suddenly has doubts.