In tribute to Jean-Marie Le Pen, the security services mobilized against a personality who invites himself

The National Rally (RN) pays a final tribute to its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, this Thursday, January 16. If it is time for contemplation, the far-right party and the family of the deceased nevertheless show signs of apprehension about the course of the ceremony: the arrival of certain controversial people considered too radical worries them. Several measures have therefore been taken to avoid any overflow and ensure the security of the event.

The family of Jean-Marie Le Pen, in particular his three daughters Marine, Marie-Caroline and Yann, are at the initiative of the religious and public ceremony planned from 11 a.m. at the Notre-Dame du Val-de-church. Grace, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. They and other relatives of the politician who died on January 7 at the age of 96 will be present, as will many elected officials and members of the RN. If some come to pay tribute to Jean-Marie Le Pen, others say they support their leader in this ordeal. The current president of the party, Jordan Bardella, is expected as well as other leaders from the same generation as the patriarch such as the former deputy Bruno Gollnisch or the former vice-president of the RN Alain Jamet according to RTL. Allied parties of the RN, French or foreign could also be present, Eric Ciotti has also confirmed his arrival at the ceremony.

Several hundred people are expected by the RN at the tribute ceremony to Jean-Marie Le Pen. If the church can accommodate up to 480 people, two giant screens have been installed on the facade of the religious building to allow those who wish to follow the mass. Note that access to the church will be strictly controlled as a close friend of Marine Le Pen told the press: “Entrances will be closely controlled by the security service who will place everyone in the church.” Moreover, no journalists will be tolerated within the church grounds.

Personalities placed on blacklist

A security system was put in place around the church with the mobilization of dozens of police officers and CRS to avoid excesses or the arrival of unwanted people, because this is one of the fears of the Le Pen family. . “By opening the ceremony to the public, we expose ourselves to the arrival of a whole bunch of individuals that the RN no longer wanted to see in its meetings,” feared an elected representative from Franceinfo. Another admitted Parisian that “it won’t be easy to manage the event and it risks being a mess” fearing “that idiots will invite themselves”. “The profile of the last people to come to see Jean-Marie Le Pen was not great,” added the same source. The founder of the RN was filmed singing with neo-Nazis last September, for example.

If the arrival of certain small far-right groups, such as the GUD known to be close to the RN, is worrying, other personalities have been noted on the list of undesirables. The essayist and former advisor to Jean-Marie Le Pen, Alain Soral, and the controversial comedian Dieudonné are in this case. The latter made it known on that he would be present at the ceremony after having obtained an exemption from his sentence, which forces him to stay at home under an electronic bracelet. However, the one who named Jean-Marie Le Pen godfather of one of his daughters is not welcome. The Le Pen family opposed his arrival and intends to refuse him access to the church according to Le Figaro.

The security system must also make it possible to avoid gatherings of activists opposed to Jean-Marie Le Pen likely to celebrate the death of the founder of the RN, like those observed in public squares in many cities on January 7. On this subject, the mayor of Perpignan and vice-president of the RN, Louis Aliot, indicated the day after the death of Jean-Marie Le Pen that the funeral and public ceremony should remain conducive to contemplation.

A reference to Le Pen’s military past

The Le Pen family did not choose to pay homage to their patriarch at the Notre-Dame du Val-de-Grâce church at random. It is a nod to the military past of the founder of the National Front and the Legion of Honor. A stint in the army during which he served in Algeria where he was accused of having taken part in acts of torture. The church in the 5th arrondissement adjoins a former military hospital itself attached to the diocese to the French armies. It is also a military chaplain who will preside over the mass and read the texts selected by the family. The chosen location, however, was not the first choice of the Le Pen family who had first thought of the Saint-Louis-des-Invalides cathedral. But “practice and tradition dictate that the Invalides are reserved for soldiers killed in combat, general officers, holders of Orders or residents” and Jean-Marie Le Pen did not meet these conditions, said a source close to the matter. has Franceinfo.