“No, it’s not a bloodletting.” In any case, this is what Jordan Bardella, the (acting) president of the National Gathering, said on France Inter, Wednesday February 16. Faced with defections which accumulate in Marine Le Pen’s camp, in favor of Eric Zemmour, with a view to the presidential election, the MEP does not blink for “the chosen ten” gone : “We have just over 1,000 local elected officials on the ground.”
Less than two months from the first round, April 10, the atmosphere is not looking good at the RN. On Tuesday, Nicolas Bay was accused of having transmitted confidential information to Eric Zemmour. This “perfectly immoral behavior” deserves to be suspended “of his campaign spokesperson as well as all his other responsibilities” within the far-right party. Nicholas Bay will file a complaint for defamation against the RN, he explained to franceinfo on Wednesday, confirming information from BFMTV. He was already thinking about the best way to leave the National Rally, it was finally the party leadership who drew the first one. This departure to the camp opposite should be confirmed in the coming days. And this is just the latest in a long list in recent weeks. Little reminder.
November 3: Jean Messiha
The migration took ten weeks, but Jean Messiha, former national delegate for RN studies, joined the Zemmour camp after leaving Marine Le Pen’s party in early November. Among the differences exposed in the weekly Current values by theand columnist for CNews and C8, the party’s position on Islam. According to him, this religion “poses a problem for France”where Marine Le Pen “considers that Islam as a religion is not a problem for France”.
After the “Why am I leaving the RN”Jean Messiha returns ten weeks later, on January 14, still in Current values to answer his own question: “Why am I joining Eric Zemmour”. He then becomes one of spokesperson of the Reconquest candidate!.
January 19: Jérôme Rivière
First major defection, MEP Jérôme Rivière, who changed sides on January 19, when he was one spokespersons for the presidential campaign of Marine Le Pen, and also head of the RN delegation to the European Parliament.
“The inability that the RN has shown to win these regional elections is the flagrant demonstration that Marine Le Pen is not in a position to win the presidential election”he believes in The Parisian by announcing its rallying to Eric Zemmour. According to him, Marine Le Pen “is unable to recognize certain evidences such as the ‘great replacement’ which leads to the downgrading of the French”. Others will follow suit very quickly.
January 20: Damien Rieu
The next day, Damien Rieu, former head of Génération identitaireannouncement on Twitter that he in turn joins Eric Zemmour. This parliamentary assistant then works for the MEP Philippe Olivier, brother-in-law and close adviser to Marine Le Pen.
“The results [du RN] stagnate, even regress”, notes Damien Rieu. Conversely, he salutes “the battle of ideas” led by the former CNews polemicist. This candidate “rocket” “denounces the ‘great replacement'”and has “succeeded in creating an unprecedented dynamic in political history”. The candidate Zemmour hastened to welcome him warmly: “Welcome to the Reconquest, dear Damien! As always, your insolence and courage have chosen the right fight!”
Welcome to the Reconquest, dear Damien! As always, your insolence and courage have chosen the right fight! https://t.co/8poa68PnPg
— Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) January 20, 2022
January 21: Gilbert Collard
“How many will go to the river? Drink from this water?”, wonders on January 21 the MEP RN Gilbert Collard, who stages himself in a video on his Facebook page. He announces in a half-word that he is going to join Eric Zemmour and launches, with a falsely enigmatic air: “Tomorrow, I’m going to bathe in the river…Rubicon”. From then Saturday January 22, Gilbert Collard attended Eric Zemmour’s meeting in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), de facto recording his departure from the National Rally.
Collard announced on Facebook his rallying to Zemmour in a sketch subtly titled “Crossing the Rubicon”. pic.twitter.com/nmBRpCgjhW
— Nabil Touati (@salam93) January 21, 2022
January 31: Sophie Grech
The defections do not only concern media figures, but also more discreet elected officials. At the end of January, Sophie Grech, elected RN for the northern districts of Marseille, and regional councilor for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, announced that she had granted her sponsorship to Eric Zemmour for the presidential election.
The same day, Marine Le Pen announces on Europe 1 that she will be excluded from the RN. “She signed a sponsorship promise and is committing perjury”does not take off the candidate. “And she does it when she knows that we don’t have the sponsorships yet. (…) It’s unworthy of her.”
This announcement causes a split: four elected officials withdraw from the municipal group RN, to protest against the position of the president of the National Rally in the municipality of Marseille, Stéphane Ravier. The latter does not in fact want the eviction of Sophie Grech. Two weeks later, Stéphane Ravier will also join Eric Zemmour (read below).
Sophie Grech, elected RN, gives her sponsorship to Zemmour: “She does it even though she knows that we do not have all the sponsorships (…) It is unworthy. But we have a moral or not … She will obviously be excluded from the RN” #Punchline pic.twitter.com/S2dtcSefKq
— Europe 1 (@Europe1) January 31, 2022
February 1: Maxette Pirbakas
“The RN is not a political party, it is a clan.” MEP Maxette Pirbakas sharply criticizes her camp and announces on February 1 that she is also joining Eric Zemmour. According to her, “there was a malaise at the level of the RN”. She mentions political differences over a dossier on the “green and blue growth”or even a meeting in December, where it did not “not invited”.
Eric Zemmour is not “not at all” racist, “It is already been to Guadeloupe”argues Maxette Pirbakas at the microphone of Guadeloupe La 1ère to explain her choice. “We see that he is not yet the fine politician, that’s what I like about him.”
February 2: Charles Perrot and Gabriel de Peyrecave
Another local figure of the RN, Charles Perrot joined Eric Zemmour on February 2 after more than twenty years in the political formation of Le Pen. Former regional councilor, former president of the RN group in the region for twelve years, he now coordinates the collection of sponsorships from the Reconquest party! in the Loire department. Charles Perrot follows in the footsteps of another RN executive in the Loire, Gabriel de Peyrecave.
February 10: Stéphane Ravier
The only senator in the party, also president of the RN group on the Marseille city council, Stéphane Ravier joined Eric Zemmour on February 10 and left “all Parisian authorities” of the far-right party following a dispute with an adviser to Marine Le Pen over sponsorship.
Marine Le Pen wanted to remind Stéphane Ravier, “defender of French culture and identity”, “the rules of French courtesy which means that when you leave somewhere, you call or send an SMS”.
>> Eric Zemmour “weak link”, Marine Le Pen not “combative” enough: how the Reconquest and RN activists judge the candidate opposite
February 16: what now, Nicolas Bay?
Already at the beginning of February, Marine Le Pen had it in her sights. Traveling to Madrid accompanied by the MEP Nicolas Bay, tempted to join Eric Zemmour, she became exasperated by the serial defections, by those who “the taqiya (concealment)”. that “those who want to leave leave. But (that) they leave now”she says.
Tuesday, February 15, Nicolas Bay was suspended from his duties at the RN. Le spokesperson for the candidate is accused of “sabotage” and for having transmitted confidential information to Eric Zemmour. Former secretary general (2014-2017) and former vice-president of the party, Nicolas Bay had been at odds with Marine Le Pen for several years, who dismissed him from the nomination committee in the summer of 2020. He is also ideologically close to Marion Maréchal, who is thinking of joining Eric Zemmour. But it has not yet crossed the Rubicon.
Questioned during a trip to Villers-Cotterêts (Aisne) on Tuesday, Marine Le Pen mentioned a “high treason”of “real internal sabotage campaigns, and that’s unforgivable”. On BFMTV, Nicolas Bay announced to him on Wednesday that he will file a complaint for defamation against the party.
Faced with these accusations, opinions differ. “We have to stop the ridiculousness a little” with “spying”, retorted Jérôme Rivière on franceinfo. The RN mayor of Béziers, Robert Ménard, evokes for his part “a bad soap opera, a B series”on franceinfo Wednesday. “It’s unbelievable.”