France elections: Who are the National Rally?
Summary
TLDRIn France, support for far-right populism, particularly tough on immigration, is rising. Key figures include Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front, and his daughter Marine Le Pen, who rebranded it as the National Rally. Marine has moderated the party's image, gaining broader appeal. Voters supporting the far-right often come from economically disadvantaged or high-unemployment areas, feeling neglected by globalization and mainstream politics. With a significant number of younger voters backing the far-right, upcoming elections could see major changes in France's political landscape.
Takeaways
- 📊 Growing support for far-right politics in France is linked to right-wing populism, particularly on issues of immigration.
- 🔍 The rise of far-right politics has historical roots, tracing back to the National Front and its successor, the National Rally, with figures like Jean Marie Le Pen playing a significant role.
- 🏛️ Jean Marie Le Pen's controversial history includes accusations of racism, Holocaust denial, and involvement in the Algerian War, which has left a lasting impact on French politics.
- 🌐 The Algerian War and the subsequent return of Pieds-Noirs to France have contributed to a sense of cultural and economic insecurity, influencing far-right voting patterns.
- 👥 Marine Le Pen, Jean Marie's daughter, reformed the party to make it more mainstream, expelling her father and changing its image to appeal to a broader audience.
- 📊 Economic struggles and unemployment in certain regions of France correlate with higher support for the far-right National Rally.
- 📉 In contrast, affluent urban areas like Paris show significantly less support for the far-right, with only 15% of the vote.
- 👶 A significant portion of younger voters, particularly those aged 25 to 34, are turning to the far-right, with nearly 50% voting for Marine Le Pen in the 2022 presidential election.
- 📈 The National Rally has seen increasing electoral success, winning over 31% of the vote in the 2024 European elections.
- 🔑 Jordan Bardella, the young president of the National Rally, uses social media effectively to connect with voters and represents a new face of the far-right movement.
- 🌍 The rise of right-wing populism in France reflects a global trend, driven by factors such as immigration, social media, and a sense of being left behind by globalization.
Q & A
What is the trend in France regarding the rise of far-right politics?
-There is a growing support for right-wing populism in France, particularly with a tough stance on immigration.
Who founded the National Front and what were its core principles?
-Jean Marie Le Pen founded the National Front, a party that opposed immigration and embraced a specific definition of French nationalism.
What is the connection between the National Front and the French war in Algeria?
-Jean Marie Le Pen served in the Algerian War and later co-founded the National Front, which has historical ties to the French war in Algeria, especially with the 'pieds-noirs' community who felt a sense of cultural insecurity post-independence.
What reforms did Marine Le Pen implement in the National Front, and what was the outcome?
-Marine Le Pen expelled her father, changed the party's name to the National Rally, and moderated the party's language to make it less confrontational, which led to an increase in its popularity and acceptance.
Why did Marine Le Pen join a protest march against anti-Semitism?
-Marine Le Pen and her party members joined a protest march against anti-Semitism in response to a spike in hate crimes in France, demonstrating a shift in the party's stance on such issues.
What demographic trends were observed in the voting patterns for Marine Le Pen's party?
-The data analysis showed that support for Marine Le Pen's party was linked to areas with lower incomes and higher unemployment rates, with a significant number of younger voters also supporting the party.
How has Marine Le Pen's party performed in recent elections?
-Marine Le Pen's party won more than 31% in the 2024 European elections and has been narrowing the gap with Emmanuel Macron's party in presidential elections.
What is the role of Jordan Bardella in the National Rally?
-Jordan Bardella has been rising within the party ranks, becoming the president of the National Rally and the EU's second youngest MEP, often using social media to connect with voters.
What are the key policies of the National Rally that appeal to voters?
-The National Rally's key policies include a 'France first' mentality, prioritizing French citizens over non-French nationals for jobs, welfare, and housing.
What factors are contributing to the rise of right-wing populism in France and globally?
-Factors contributing to the rise of right-wing populism include immigration, social media campaigns, anger over perceived government overreach, and a sense of being left behind by globalization.
What is the potential impact of the 2027 presidential election in France on the political landscape?
-The 2027 presidential election in France could be a catalyst for seismic change, with the radical right moving from the margins to the mainstream.
Outlines
🌐 Rise of Far-Right Populism in France
The first paragraph discusses the growing support for far-right politics in France, particularly focusing on the National Rally, the successor to the National Front party. It delves into the history of far-right politics, starting with Jean Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front, who had a controversial past with charges of racism and alleged involvement in torture during the Algerian War. The paragraph also touches on the impact of the Algerian War on French politics, the concept of 'pieds-noirs' (black feet), French settlers in Algeria who later supported far-right candidates, and the shift of these voters towards the National Front due to historical grievances and a sense of cultural insecurity.
🔄 Transformation and Modernization of the National Rally
The second paragraph examines the transition of the National Front under Marine Le Pen, Jean Marie's daughter, who took over the party and initiated reforms to make it more palatable to the mainstream. She expelled her father, changed the party's name to the National Rally, and moderated her political rhetoric. The paragraph also discusses Marine's efforts to distance the party from anti-Semitism and xenophobia, her increased popularity, and the socio-economic factors influencing the party's support, such as lower incomes and high unemployment rates in certain regions. It highlights the shift in French political culture from identifying as workers to identifying as French and the party's appeal to various sections of society that felt unheard by the traditional elites.
📊 Demographics and Appeal of the Far-Right to Younger Voters
The third paragraph explores the demographic trends of the far-right's support base, noting a significant portion of younger voters, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, who are drawn to the National Rally due to concerns over living costs and national security. It introduces Jordan Bardella, the young president of the National Rally, who has leveraged social media to connect with this demographic. The paragraph also addresses the party's key policies, such as prioritizing French citizens over non-nationals in jobs and welfare, and the broader context of right-wing populism's rise globally, driven by factors like immigration, social media, and a sense of being left behind by globalization. The potential for a seismic shift in French politics during the upcoming 2027 presidential election is also alluded to.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Far-right politics
💡Right-wing populism
💡Jean-Marie Le Pen
💡Pieds-Noirs
💡Marine Le Pen
💡Cultural insecurity
💡Economic stagnation
💡Social media
💡National Rally
💡Youth voter
💡Globalization
Highlights
Growing support for right-wing populism in France, particularly on immigration.
The rise of the National Front and its successor, the National Rally, in French politics.
Jean Marie Le Pen's controversial history and his role in founding the National Front.
The connection between the French-Algerian War and the rise of far-right politics.
The term 'Pieds-Noirs' and its significance in post-colonial French politics.
Marine Le Pen's reforms to 'de-demonize' the National Front and its rebranding as the National Rally.
Marine Le Pen's increased popularity and her party's performance in recent elections.
The correlation between economic hardship and support for the far-right in France.
The shift in political alignment among the 'Pieds-Noirs' community towards the National Front.
The role of social media in the rise of Jordan Bardella and the National Rally.
The demographic trends showing younger voters' support for Marine Le Pen's party.
The impact of living costs and security concerns on the appeal of the far-right to younger voters.
Critiques of Marine Le Pen's strategy and her ability to address French voters' concerns.
The global rise of right-wing populism and its drivers, including immigration and social media.
The potential for the 2027 French presidential election to bring about significant political change.
The mainstreaming of the radical right in France and its implications for the country's future.
Transcripts
in France more and more people are
heading to the far right there's growing
support for rightwing populism with a
particularly tough St on
immigration so who are these politician
who's backing them and should Europe be
bracing itself for change here's what
you need to
know this is enan bomo in northern
France a place where far-right
politicians have always tended to do
well going back to the National front
and now its successor party
thetion the national
rally but before we delve into where
those supporters are coming from let's
look at one family one Dynasty almost
whose DNA is threaded through far-right
politics in France John Marie Leen
founder of the FR naal a party that
opposed immigration but embraced his
definition of French nationalism it was
also co-founded by Pierre bus a member
of the French division of the buffan SS
the notorious military wing of the Nazi
party what started in the political
margins has become more and more popular
Jean Marie Leen was a paratrooper in the
Algerian War more on that soon he has
got a very controversial history
indicted on racism or racial hatred
charges at least six times including for
comments about the Holocaust and
France's Muslim
Community during the 1950s while leading
a special military intelligence unit
Leen appeared to admit ordering the
torture of Algerian detainees he later
recanted those statements and he's won
defamation cases against those who've
accused him of torture but over the
years the accusations had accumulated
and the violent history had stuck and
that's why we need to talk about the
French war in
Algeria you'll hear this term about
French people who returned to Mainland
France after that war they were pied
Noir or black feet people who settled in
Algeria during France's Colonial
occupation they had rights that the
algerians didn't
now many of them supported France in the
independence war that followed one in
which torture was used by France and
civilians on both sides were attacked
theal called a referendum in January
1961 in which 75% of the French in
France voted for algeria's
self-determination but not everyone
agreed and this is where Jean Marie Leen
comes back in having served in Algeria
he entered politics and co-founded the
national front in 1962 Algeria gained
its Liberation after 132 years of French
occupation more than a million settlers
returned from Algeria to France fearing
reprisals from the indigenous population
though French many had lived in the
former Colony for generations and had
never even been to France but they still
feel the shock of their forced departure
the pedir and their descendants often
voted for Far Right candidates it's not
it's not only a protest vote it's really
an ideological vote in the S it's a
sense of feeling of insecurity which is
very present in France the the pioir
having got kicked out of Algeria a land
which by the way some pioir not all of
them were colonialists who had been
there only for for 50 years some had
been there for much much longer
including since the Roman Empire uh and
uh these people getting kicked out of
Algeria and seeing people coming from
these places that had kicked them out
arrive starting in the
1970s uh that that has fed a sentiment
of cultural insecurity that has only
grown with time it would go with whoever
promises them um reparations and it's
only really in the
1990s that um the the pinoir as
Community now as a kind of an older
community of mainly older people based
mainly on on historical resentment
actually really shift heavily to the
National front of course they do this
because um their historical grievances
align very well with um with lupin's
sort of historical grievance politics
Jean Marie Lupen was a disruptor though
he ran for president five times and even
got to the runoff in 2002
where he suffered a huge Landslide
defeat at the hands of jacqu sherak now
for the next part of the Leen Dynasty
his daughter mine she took over the FN
and then in 2015 began a series of
reforms to detoxify the party Marine
Leen expelled her father changed the
name of the FR National to the less
confrontational the national rally and
tempered her own language
and she what we call in French de D
demonized it that is to say she
normalized it more recently she and her
party members joined a protest March
against anti-Semitism in Paris following
a spike in hate crimes in France
following the Hamas Le attacks on the
7th of October
2023 and the Israeli invasion of the
Gaza
Strip uh she did uh Purge the party from
um aitly anti-semitic aitly xenophobic
uh members she started uh to to speak a
language uh that was that sounded rather
reasonable for a far-right uh party she
mixed a lot of the what we would call
left Ling values and and indeed
Republican values of the left like
secularism like the weal of state it
operates within the the Republican
family that it's it's now uh a
Republican party and uh not the far
right um shadow of of her father so who
is voting for Marine Le Pen's party in
both 2018 and 2020 2 she lost the
presidential runoff against Emanuel
macron but the important thing is
between those two elections the Gap
narrowed Leen was becoming more popular
and more acceptable her party won more
than 31% in the 2024 European elections
that was more than the combined share of
Emanuel macron's Renaissance party and
the Socialist party's Coalition Sky News
data analyzed voting patterns in 96
French departments those are a bit like
counties in the UK and what we
discovered was that there was a link
between those voting for the far right
and areas with lower incomes like n in
the northeast of this country an area
where incomes are lower than the
national average where the cost of
living crisis has really hit home and
almost 60% of n residents voted for the
far right in Marine leen's own
constituency in padal in the Northwest
with a similar economic profile more
than half the voters backed her RN party
but it's a different story among more
affluent Metropolitan voters in Paris
the far rights share of the vote was
just
15% and we can see a similar Trend in
areas with high
unemployment in southern France on the
border with Spain the unemployment rate
stands stands at
12.4% in the pan Oriental there the far
right captured over 50% of the votes any
place I can number more that actually
used to be a lot more of a leftwing
stronghold um the very kind of long
process actually set into Motion in the
1990s um at a time um of you could say
political abandonment and more also um
in the southwest over the last few years
is a complete sort of transition
um of even culture so um kind of a um a
kind of a new culture of defining
oneself from before we the workers to we
the French and it has many reasons of
course one of which is is stagnation one
of it is fear that's only want you also
offers this very easy um you can say
discourse um that fault of everything
onto immigration her critics accuse Leen
of Simply spinning old with new language
and they question whether she does have
a strategy to address the concerns of
French voters she has managed to
aggregate the sentiments the uh
aspirations the fears as well of whole
Parts whole sections of French society
that to be honest the old Elites had not
listened to or had stopped listening to
or were not uh uh defending or were not
championing in their political SC what's
really interesting is the share of young
people who are voting for Theon National
in the 2022 presidential election just
under 50% of 25 to 34 year olds who cast
a vote opted for Leen compared to just
41% of the general population and a mere
29% of Voters aged over 70 so what's
happening here why are so many of
France's gen Zed and younger Millennials
voting for the far right about the the
cost of living because it's a very very
important subject and also uh live in
Security in their country it's also very
important for them uh for these two
subjects um I I think that many people
think that Marin Leen and Jordan badela
are the best uh personality to change uh
their the life we can't vote for them is
not for the it's not politic you know
it's about the past the Algerian War the
Jean Marie Leen Marine
Leen uh are not they are not make
politic they are make racism video edits
of the young president of the party
Jordan bardella often go viral on Tik
[Music]
Tok now bardel has extensive roots in
the Italian city of chin he says he
75% Italian he grew up on the crimer
riddled streets in the suburbs Northeast
of Paris but he went to a private school
now bellaa dropped out of sbor
University when he was just 17 in order
to join the gamon National saying that
he was inspired by Marine Leen he worked
his way up through the party and Le Pen
gave him his nickname The Lion CB bardel
Eclipse leen's niece Marion Mar sh long
seen as the eventual family successor
who then quit the party altogether to
back farri right rival presidential
candidate Eric zore in 2022 Leen made
bardel president of RN his meteoric rise
solidified when he became the eu's
second youngest me ever that same year
the Tik to politician regularly posts
videos of himself speaking to his 1.7
million strong
helping him connect with voters but does
he offer more style than substance he is
not even 30 he understands social media
clean face is a very um very sort of
smooth appearance that would be able to
follow party line was also recruited as
the face of the party as a way of
finding someone you can control
relatively easily um if you look at any
um internal agreement between Marine
Lupen and Jordan Barda Jordan Barda
doesn't really ever um try to fight back
um but this doesn't mean that it will
not change one of Bella's catchphrases
is France is disappearing it plays into
the RN's key policies defined by a sort
of France first mentality it means
French citizens should be given priority
over non-french Nationals for jobs
welfare housing a Doctrine Marine Leen
has continued from her father and with
voters fed up with macron's rule it is
striking a Accord the the insecurity is
much more economic and cultural but
cultural in the sense of this
International culture is kind of
breaking all of the social fabric around
them and this is what is leading to this
cultural insecurity so where does this
all leave us well all over the world
right-wing populism has been on the rise
but particularly in America and Europe
driven by immigration social media
campaigns anger over perceived
government overreach but also in places
like this a former coal mining region a
sense that voters have been forgotten
left behind by
globalization and France's particular
history feeds into that sense of
disenchantment in 2027 this country will
hold a presidential
election and there are many who think
that could be the Catalyst for seismic
change the radical right for so long in
the margins is now mainstream
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