The timing is calculated. By starting her back-to-school speech in Hénin-Beaumont (Pas-de-Calais), Marine Le Pen is two hours ahead of Eric Zemmour, who is doing the same exercise from Gréoux-les-Bains (Alpes-de-Haute- Provence). A north-south axis quickly swept away by the president of the National Rally (RN), hardly decided to dwell on the subject: “I wish him well. He failed in the presidential election, he failed in the legislative elections. I’m not here to talk about Zemmour. »
Before going up to the podium erected in the garden of his parliamentary office, Mme Le Pen spent a long time surveying the big local sale which marks, in September, the time of the start of the school year. In a micro-dress and ten-centimeter heels, Miss Héninois was never far away, posing casually for the photographers. “It was the head of the city’s demonstrations department who asked me to come”explains the young woman, who finds it quite normal to be solicited: “I’m here for my city. »
Over the stands and garage sales spread out on the ground, the welcome is often enthusiastic for the leader of the deputies of the RN, very comfortable in her adopted land, in the town led by Steeve Briois , one of his loyal lieutenants. We even prepared little gifts for him. Here, a blue-white-red knitted collar for her cat, there a handmade fabric bag printed with cats since no one seems to be unaware of her immoderate taste for this animal.
“Resistance” and “national conquest”
The closer you get to the city center, the longer Marine Le Pen lingers. On Place Carnot, a regional association of pin-ups dressed in glamorous 1950s outfits will even be entitled to a long break and a few photos around vintage cars released for the occasion. So much for the decor, good-natured, popular, family and festive. For the back-to-school political speech, it is necessary to be able to access the garden of its permanence where about 200 people are piled up ready to drink whey.
They will not be disappointed. Mme Le Pen knows where she’s talking about, in this mining basin “base of the resistance and the national conquest which must lead us to power”at the heart of this 11e constituency of Pas-de-Calais where “from 2007, I was the only one in the second round of all the legislative elections”. After a quick review of the last legislative elections, described as “great political shift (…), this moment when the people have decided that we are the alternating force”the barrage focuses on “the macronists, who are regressive” plus “incompetence” what “by choice” and on a “power that no longer seems to control anything”.
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