The death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, former leader of the party once known as the Front National, comes at a time when the mainstreaming of far-right politics in France appears to be all but complete.
For most of her career, Le Pen was considered the devil in French politics. But today his party, now called Rassemblement Nationale, stands at the gates of power, with his daughter at its head.
Le Pen became a member of the French National Assembly in 1956, aged just 27, and quickly became the face of the far right. Le Pen returned to French politics in the 1960s after opposing independence and moving to Algeria, where she was accused of torture during her military service.
This era was a period of social progress, and therefore also a nadir for far-right politics.
In 1972, Le Pen was part of the group that founded the National Front. This was essentially an attempt to unite various small far-right organizations under one banner. He became the party’s first president, as he was considered the least extreme of the candidates.
This was despite the fact that he was convicted of war crimes apologizing in 1971 for republishing vinyl records of Nazi songs. Le Pen also routinely expressed a nostalgic attachment to the Vichy regime, which collaborated with France’s Nazis during World War II.
Racism has always been at the heart of Le Pen’s politics. But as his party strives to gain acceptance into the mainstream, its core lies under the guise of anti-immigrant concerns, patriotic pride and even defending France’s laïcité system against women and Islam. It became thinly hidden.
The National Front had a slow start and struggled to gain traction until the mid-1980s. Its first national breakthrough was greatly aided by President François Mitterrand of the Socialist Party. Mitterrand was elected on a radical platform in 1981, but quickly turned to austerity in response to the ongoing financial crisis.
As a result, Mitterrand’s approval ratings plummeted, and he actively and consciously supported Le Pen’s then-struggling party to prevent a resurgence of a more moderate right. Aiming to polarize the right-wing vote, Mitterrand gave legitimacy to Le Pen’s extreme ideas, especially by giving her a platform in public national media. Most ironically of all, Mitterrand changed the electoral system to a proportional one, giving the National Front 35 members and significantly increasing its profile.
2002: Le Pen wins second round
But the real shock came in 2002, when Le Pen made it to the second round of the presidential election. But again, this said far more about the current state of French politics and democracy than the so-called “irresistible rise” of the National Front.
Le Pen’s actual vote share has been stagnant since 1988. Le Pen’s vote share appeared to have increased by 2.5% between 1988 and 2002, but when turnout was taken into account, her vote share increased by 0.19%, or less than 500,000 votes. This is certainly not negligible, but it is far from the perceived “tsunami”.
Share of FN/RN votes and registered votes in presidential (P), parliamentary (L) and European elections (E) since its creation. P2002 2 represents the second round of elections. Mondon, CC BY-ND
Rather, it was the status quo and the growing unpopularity of the main ruling parties that paved the way for the earthquake. In 2002, the major centrist parties on the left and right combined received fewer votes than their abstention rate.
Similarly, we need to put into perspective the 2007 election, which has always been portrayed as Le Pen’s downfall and a victory over mainstream extremists. In reality, Nicolas Sarkozy had siphoned off a significant portion of the far-right vote by openly positioning himself as Le Pen’s direct competitor. Mr. Sarkozy’s constant attacks on immigrants and Islam earned him the nickname “Nicolas Le Pen” in the Wall Street Journal.
“This is a victory for his ideas!” said Marine Le Pen, Jean-Marie’s daughter and then campaign chief, when asked on the night of the first round how bad the defeat was.
So while Jean-Marie Le Pen sought to make his politics more palatable by distancing himself from the most incendiary rhetoric, mainstream parties sought to win back voters by opposing his message. By being vague, I was supporting his cause. Le Pen also provided a welcome opportunity to divert attention from a crisis that mainstream parties have proven unable to address.
Jean-Marie Le Pen and Marine Le Pen, photographed in 2012, when both were members of the European Parliament. EPA/Patrick Seeger
The situation worsened when Marine Le Pen replaced her father as party leader in 2011. She eventually changed the party’s name to Rally National and ousted Le Pen in 2015 when she could no longer defend her comments that the gas chambers were just a “detail.” About World War II.
However, by then Sarkozy had mainstreamed much of the FN’s discourse. Francois Hollande of the Socialist Party was elected president in 2012 after he sought to act “tough” on far-right issues such as immigration and Islam in response to a wave of deadly terrorist attacks. , could not change the flow.
But perhaps no president has been more intent on defeating the far right by co-opting its discourse, while claiming to be a bulwark against the far right. In 2020, he appointed an interior minister who accused Le Pen of being “too soft on Islam.” This marked a new low. Rather than emulating Le Pen, the mainstream outbid her.
2024: A dynasty at the gates of power
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen is benefiting not only from mainstream pandering to her politics but also from the hype surrounding her far-right rival Eric Zemmour during the 2022 presidential campaign. The increased attention paid to Zemmour effectively obscured the real threat posed by Le Pen and her far-right ideology. By comparison, it seemed mostly moderate and reasonable.
Le Pen now appears to be a de facto kingmaker, providing Macron’s government with the votes it needs to survive in a divided parliament, despite being embroiled in a damaging court case.
Jean-Marie Le Pen’s death therefore comes at a time when French politics is facing its worst crisis. Far from becoming a bulwark against the far right, Macron paved the way for the National Rally by mainstreaming its speech and politics.
Many mainstream elites seem to accept that the rise of the far right is irresistible, but the only remaining options are the far right or mainstream politicians implementing far right politics. That’s it. Both bad and bad options are available. That is, until France takes seriously the threat from the far right and the need for fundamental change.
