2024-07-12 09:00:24
National Grouping (RN) emerged as the leading contender to win the legislative elections, after obtaining 33% of the votes in the first round. However, it came in third place, behind the alliance of Emmanuel Macron and the left coalition New Popular Front (NFP). Below are three key reasons for the defeat.
RN, isolated and against everyone
Although the results represent the largest entry of far-right deputies into the National Assembly since the end of the Second World Warwith 143 of the 577 seats, the main reason for its defeat was the “republican front” against it.
He NFP and Macron’s alliance withdrew more than 200 candidates in the runoff in order to concentrate the vote on those “republicans” with the best chance of defeating a far-right rival in each constituency.
The far right thus lost 90 of the 152 duels against an NFP candidate and 105 of the 128 against an official candidate, demonstrating a greater mobilization of left-wing voters to stop the RN.
Also, voices like that of the footballer Kylian Mbappé They called for a vote “against the extremes.”
Candidates without credibility
Beyond the “republican front”, RN seems to have suffered from a lack of preparation. On the ground, dozens of candidates gave an image of incompetence, amateurism and unabashed racism.
One candidate denied that RN was racist by saying that she has “a Jewish eye doctor” and a “Muslim dentist”; another expressed his “doubts” about the anti-Semitic nature of the historical leader’s statements Jean-Marie Le Pen.
On social media, fragments of debates went viral televised elections where far-right candidates showed an inability to explain their programme. Some did not even appear in public during the campaign.
These controversies hampered the normalization strategy undertaken by Marine Le Pen to present a more moderate image of his party.
Nationality controversy
Beyond his lack of clarity on campaign issues, such as the repeal of Macron’s pension reform, the main controversy revolved around the proposal to prohibit French people with dual nationality from accessing certain strategic positions, a proposal that was defended by Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally.
His deputy Roger Chudeau, who was re-elected, went even further by pointing out a “double loyalty” of the binationals, citing the case of the Franco-Moroccan Najat Vallaud-Belkacem ―current general councillor of the 12th canton of Lyon―who he believes should never have served as Socialist Minister of National Education between 2014 and 2017. Even the party leader, Marine Le Pen, declared herself “shocked” by these statements.
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2024-07-12 09:00:24