“These are elements that we cannot corroborate“: the “gendarme” of the electoral campaign pinned Marine Le Pen’s profession of faith in view of the second round of the presidential election. The Electoral Campaign Control Commission (CNCCEP) thus requests clarifications from the candidate of the National Rally, reveals France Inter on Wednesday April 13, 2022. These are two figures, which appear on this document, which made the Commission wince. Explanations.
What are we talking about ?
In Marine Le Pen’s leaflet, which is available on the Internet, we can read that there has been an increase in “31% intentional attacks since 2017” and “1.5 million additional immigrants have entered France legally since 2017“.
Two figures which were already present in the profession of faith of the first round, except that in the tract to come, the national gathering has added an asterisk, which therefore refers at the bottom of the page to the following indication: “source: ministry of l ‘Interior’. And it is precisely this mention that poses a problem for the CNCCEP: she says she fails to “corroborate“its figures via data from Beauvau. This commission, not really known to the general public, has this mission in its attributions.
On its official website, the CNCCEP, chaired by Didier-Roland Tabuteau, vice-president of the Council of State, thus indicates “control compliance with the provisions in force for posters and professions of faith of candidates, carries out a mission of monitoring the various aspects of the electoral campaign: public meetings, written press, audiovisual media, internet, etc. It has a duty to intervene so that stop actions that seem objectionable to him. The Commission, if necessary, seizes the competent authorities of the State if sufficiently serious incidents and likely to affect the smooth running of the electoral campaign occur.”
For its part, the RN ensures that these are figures from the ministry, which does not recognize them. “These are not statistics, but a collection of figures that could be described as very hazardous“, assures a connoisseur of the file to franceinfo.
Are the numbers true or false?
If the use of the source is at the heart of the questions, are the figures put forward on this leaflet by Marine Le Pen’s team false? On delinquency, Marine Le Pen actually speaks of “intentional assault and battery on people over 15 years old“, and it’s true, the data recorded by the police and the gendarmerie have been on the rise since 2017, but the increase is mainly due to domestic violence.
Sunday April 24, if the people vote, the people win!
Discover my profession of faith for this second round of the presidential election https://t.co/0LV5or1pII pic.twitter.com/UYGAk2bDOh
– Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) April 12, 2022
Concerning immigration, and the affirmation “1.5 million additional immigrants have entered France legally since 2017“, Marine Le Pen is content here to highlight entries, forgetting that some leave, such as foreign students. Thus, according to INSEE, net migration, i.e. the difference between arrivals and departures from the national territory, represents 800,000 more people on the territory between 2017 and 2020.
>> 2022 presidential polls: explore the evolution of voting intentions for the second round between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron
What will happen now?
In the worst case, the commission may decide not to approve Marine Le Pen’s profession of faith, which would force her to put thousands of documents in the trash. “Given the deadlines, obviously they are already at the printer“, confides a party executive. The RN says it is serene, however. “Our sources are reliable, we have already passed them on to the Commission on several occasions. Moreover, these figures already appeared on the profession of faith of the 1st round. The only purpose of all this is to waste our precious time.“, estimates a relative of the candidate.
More simply, this requested request for clarification is a first step: there is no question yet of putting the leaflets in the trash, which are already partly printed. Moreover, this kind of request is not an isolated case. “We regularly ask for such details. This was the case for several candidates before the first round“, emphasizes the CNCCEP.
Marine Le Pen must therefore justify the source of the figures she uses. The RN candidate, traveling to an SME in Gennevilliers in the Hauts-de-Seine on Wednesday morning, recalls that the figures which are in her profession of faith “are sourced with figures from the Ministry of the Interior” with “ministry link“.”I don’t mind him challenging his own figures, but be careful of this type of maneuver, be careful to respect democracy. I really do not see what could push the judge of the election to prohibit my profession of faith which would amount to addressing to the French only the profession of the outgoing president“, she warns.
In the meantime, she has until Thursday evening April 14 to respond to the Commission, because after that it will be too late: after 8 p.m., it is the deadline for the two qualified candidates to submit their posters and their professions for the second round. Then, the National Control Commission checks many parameters, such as, for example, the weight of the paper or the use of the French flag. She also decides ultimately whether or not to approve the documents. If ever, Marine le Pen’s profession of faith was not validated, the National Rally could appeal to the Council of State.