How France’s Hard-right Wants FREXIT – But Won’t Admit It

Jul 6, 2024 | France’s hard-right National Rally came third in the second round of parliamentary elections on Sunday 7 July – but the party led by Jordan Bardella got the highest vote share of 37 percent.

The tactics of the left and centre coalitions of shutting them out worked. Now, all eyes are on which coalition will be able to form a government, if at all possible. Or whether France is headed towards a political crisis.

Although the National Rally didn’t win this time, their political programme is an interesting read. It contains a real confrontation with the EU; for example, the party want to make French law superior to EU law, close the Schengen zone for non-EU nationals and shut out people with dual citizenship from jobs in the area of security and defense. All of which could effectively lead to FREXIT – a French exit of the EU since these points are simply incompatible with EU membership.

The Far Right Is Close to Power in France. Will the Rest of Europe Follow?

A screenshot taken from theis article. | GETTY IMAGES
BBC: How likely is France to wake up on Monday morning to a new far-right dawn?

That was the garishly painted, hotly debated scenario in media headlines, the EU in Brussels and seats of government across Europe following the first round of France’s parliamentary vote last week.

But despite the spectacular showing by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party, the short answer is: an RN majority is possible. Not probable.

French centrist and leftist parties have strategically withdrawn candidates to bolster each other’s contenders ahead of Sunday’s decisive second round.

But the impact of this election will be seismic, whether or not the RN wins an outright majority - or whether Jordan Bardella, its social media-savvy young president, becomes France’s new prime minister.

Polls predict RN is all but guaranteed to win more seats than any other political grouping.>br />
That means a decades-old taboo will have been shattered in France, a core EU nation. » | Katya Adler, Europe editor | Sunday, July 7, 2024

France’s Far Right Celebrates Lead after First Round of Parliamentary Elections | BBC News

Jul 1, 2024 | France’s far right is in pole position after the first round of parliamentary elections that confirmed their dominance in French politics.

Supporters of Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally (RN) cheered as she said the president’s “Macronist bloc has been all but wiped out”. RN won 33.1% of the vote, with a left-wing alliance behind on 28%, and the Macron camp behind on 20.76%.

This marks the first time the far right has won the first round of a French parliamentary election. “I aim to be prime minister for all the French people, if the French give us their votes,” said 28-year-old RN party leader Jordan Bardella.

French Elections Results: Could Le Pen's National Rally Win an Absolute Majority?

Jul 1, 2024 | The first round of France's legislative elections resulted in an emphatic victory for Marine Le Pen's far right party National Rally, which has set its sights on an absolute majority. Bloomberg's Caroline Connan reports.

French Far Right Wins Big in First Round of Voting

THE NEW YORK TIMES: A surprise decision by President Emmanuel Macron to hold a snap election appears to have backfired badly, giving the National Rally a decisive victory.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, giving a speech Sunday evening in Hénin-Beaumont, France. | Francois Lo Presti/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The National Rally party on Sunday won a crushing victory in the first round of voting for the French National Assembly, bringing its long-taboo brand of nationalist and anti-immigrant politics to the threshold of power for the first time.

Official results published by the Interior Ministry showed that the party and its allies won about 33 percent of the vote, far ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party and its allies, which took about 20 percent to end in third place.

A coalition of left-wing parties, called the New Popular Front, won about 28 percent of the vote. Ranging from the moderate socialists to the far-left France Unbowed, the coalition was boosted by strong support among young people. » | Roger Cohen, Reporting from Paris | Sunday, June 30, 2024

Polls Predict ‘Extremely Bad Result’ for Macron’s Centrist Party as National Rally ‘Widens Lead’

Jun 30, 2024 | “The National Rally has actually widened its lead over Macron’s party and its allies since the European elections.”

President Macron’s centrist political coalition is currently polling in third place, behind an alliance of leftist parties in second place and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in first place, says The Times reporter David Chazan.

Andrew Neil on the National Rally, Macron's Demise and a Populist Europe | SpectatorTV

Jun 8, 2024 | Andrew Neil joins Freddy Gray to discuss the rise of Marine Le Pen in the lead up the EU elections; how the right now appeals to the working class voter base; and what the EU elections could mean for British politics.

Les Républicains leader says he wants alliance with France’s far-right National Rally: Éric Ciotti’s announcement welcomed by Marine Le Pen as ‘brave choice’ but seen as betrayal by members of mainstream right »

France’s Far-right National Rally Elects New President to Replace Le Pen

THE GUARDIAN: ordan Bardella, 27, who joined the party as a teenager and is a protege of Marine Le Pen, replaces her as leader

Jordan Bardella, newly-elected president of the RN party, holds the hand of Marine Le Pen after the results during the National Rally party's Congress in Paris, France. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters
France’s far-right National Rally (RN) has elected a 27-year-old from the Paris banlieue who joined the party as a teenager as its new president to replace Marine Le Pen.

The result means that for the first time since the party – originally the National Front – was created in 1972, it will not be run by a Le Pen.

Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s protege, who has been caretaker president for a year, beat Louis Aliot, 53, the mayor of Perpignan, a party heavyweight as well as Le Pen’s former partner, by 85% to 15% of party members who voted.

There were cheers and a standing ovation as Le Pen announced the result. The handover comes at a tense time for the RN after one of its MPs was suspended from parliament for a racist outburst last week. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Saturday, November 5, 2022

Marine Le Pen passe la main à Jordan Bardella pour diriger le Rassemblement national : L’eurodéputé, qui assure l’intérim de la présidence du RN depuis un an, a obtenu 84,84 % des suffrages lors du vote qui s’est déroulé dans la matinée. »

Politischer Ziehsohn von Le Pen wird neuer Parteichef : Er ist jung, stramm rechtsnational und binnen kürzester Zeit aufgestiegen: Jordan Bardella übernimmt den Vorsitz des Rassemblement National. Die größte Herausforderung erwartet ihn in der Provinz. »