The leaders of the far-right party will meet in Cap d’Agde, in Hérault, all weekend. An appointment which therefore signals the return of Marine Le Pen, very discreet since the beginning of the summer. It is also the entry into the home stretch of the competition for his succession at the head of the party. On November 5, we will know the new president after the vote of the 30,000 members. They must decide between the MEP Jordan Bardella and the mayor of Perpignan, Louis Aliot.
For the first time since the creation of the FN, in a month and a half it is therefore no longer a Le Pen who will lead the party. However, this is not a real break: the two candidates are two faithful Marine Le Pen and their mission will be to prepare his 4th presidential candidacy in 2027. Their only difference is age: 27 years for Jordan Bardella, the favorite, supported by the party apparatus; 53 years for Louis Aliot, ex-companion of Marine Le Pen, at the head of the only RN municipality of more than 100,000 inhabitants.
But the RN takes care of the staging of the duel, first to paint itself as a modern party, capable of settling its internal disputes in a peaceful and democratic way. Which would be new, when you think of the many past splits, or the evictions or resignations in recent years: Marion Maréchal, Florian Philippot, Gilbert Collard and many others.
The other interest of this competition is to try to hide the anniversary of the creation of the FN, which Marine Le Pen absolutely wants to ignore. Half a century is worth celebrating! Except at the RN, which therefore succeeded the National Front founded on October 5, 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen. No cake, no candle, belt! No way to claim loud and clear this sulphurous heritage.
Marine Le Pen is betting on amnesia, as are currently being done by far-right Swedish and Italian parties who are trying to erase their fascist roots to get closer to power. The RN has however kept the fundamentals of the FN in its program, starting with the so-called principle of “national preference” which aims to exclude foreigners from housing, social assistance and jobs. And even the customs have hardly changed: Jean-Marie Le Pen urged activists to pour their donation into tricolor flags at the end of meetings. Marine Le Pen has just professionalized the collection: she has just launched a new loan from members, the third in five years, to try to erase the 22 million euros in debt of the party.