“So, how does it feel to vote with the monsters?” Laure Lavalette is jubilant. All smiles, the National Rally MP greets her left-wing colleagues whom she meets on her way. The motion to reject has just been adopted. It’s a strange combination which got the better of the “immigration” bill of the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin: communists, socialists, rebels, ecologists, republicans and… frontists combined their voices to block the text. The RN uncorks the champagne. “It’s the happiest day of my life in the Assembly,” assures Gard MP Pierre Meurin with a bright eye.
On all television sets, far-right parliamentarians are going to spread the good word: if the text fell, it is indeed thanks to them. Presumptuous, the National Rally? There is no doubt that the frontists, by dint of being courted, feel their ankles swelling. For several days, everyone has been wondering about the vote of their 88 deputies. Here, the government and the Elysée, which send emissaries to find out the group’s position on the rejection motion. There, the right, who slips in a few text messages to offer discreet interviews. Here again, the left, which barely holds its nose when we talk about the possibility of seeing their motion voted on by the RN. Benjamin Lucas himself, the environmentalist deputy at the origin of the motion, undertakes not to include elements that are too striking so as not to put off potential voters.
At the RN, we procrastinate. Will vote, will not vote? Ultimately, it is the first option that is chosen. The least risky in truth. Leaving the Hemicycle, Marine Le Pen declared: “By voting on this rejection motion, we have protected the French from a pro-immigration law.” And Jordan Bardella, Tuesday December 12, reminded BFMTV: “The National Rally is an opposition party.” The precision comes at the right time. Has the government forgotten it? The position of the RN group is not surprising. The government has nothing to expect from the far-right party, and it is in fact the right which inflicts this defeat on Gérald Darmanin, by refusing the alliance proposed by the government. The Republicans are the real brains of the operation. At least, the real performers. If the frontists hesitated to play the constructive opposition card, the benefit-risk assessment quickly tipped the scales in favor of firm opposition.
There is therefore no risk of being accused of compromising with the government. A little less radioactivity. Added to this is the possibility of paying Gérald Darmanin thanks to a maneuver initiated by the left. And, finally, to top it all off, there is a strong chance of seeing the text come back hardened in the Hemicycle. The choice was not easy, and the move has more to do with communication than strategy. The RN, with this decision, is only sticking to its role as opponent: it hopes to benefit from a betrayal of the right and a motion of which it is not the initiator. A profitable operation at a lower cost for the frontists, who took the opportunity to drive the point home. Still on BFMTV, Tuesday morning, Jordan Bardella once again plays the role of the first opponent, ensuring that his party is ready to return to voters in the event of dissolution. Even adding that he is “ready” in the event of a victory for the RN in the legislative elections that would follow, to be “a Prime Minister of cohabitation”. It’s easy, ultimately, the role of first opponent.