with its anti-EU policy, the RN isolates itself within the Strasbourg Parliament

The European Parliament will be renewed during elections next June. The National Rally, well placed in the polls, currently has 18 MEPs.

The National Rally is given the lead in the polls for the next European elections scheduled for next June. If the party is normalizing in the National Assembly, this is not the case within the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

In the European Parliament, the elected representatives of the RN remain marginalized and not very active. In Strasbourg, the National Rally has 18 MEPs. They sit in one of the two far-right groups alongside the Italians of Matteo Salvini’s League, the German AFD, and the Austrian far-right. Despite everything, they have neither vice-presidency of Parliament, nor even any committee presidency. Far-right elected officials are struggling to be entrusted with the key positions of law rapporteurs, because here the traditional parties practice what they call “sanitary cord”.

A sanitary cordon practiced by traditional parties

These parties agree to give the far right as little power as possible, confirms Italian centrist MEP Sandro Gozi. “When we think like the RN that theErule of law is not a vital issue for the EU, when we disagree on fundamental freedoms, there is no basis for doing common work in Parliament. So the sanitary cordon exists and must continue to exist.” he assures.

The RN is therefore an isolated party whose leader, MEP Jordan Bardella, is only visible in the hemicycle. He participates little in parliamentary work as confirmed, while justifying it, by one of the members of the group, RN MEP Gilles Lebreton. “First, he does a very good job in plenary, and his interventions are very widely relayed and listened to. And then he gives the voting instructions, the guidelines on our political positions, he defends. So in fact he sits on the petitions committee, which is renowned for being the one where we work the least! But it’s legitimate… he’s the president of the party, it takes him time. It is a very important responsibility which requires his presence in Paris very often.”

“Jordan Bardella is a special case, the other RN MEPs, rest assured, are much more present”

Gilles Lebreton, RN MEP

at franceinfo

Compared to the previous mandate, RN MEPs are in fact more present. Despite everything, if we compare their parliamentary work to that of other groups, there is still a gulf. RN elected officials participate very little in the development of European laws and vote against most texts, including in areas where they could assert their positions, explains Macronist MEP Pascal Canfin who will brandish, he promises, their record during the European campaign.

“This assessment is having voted against the recovery plan which saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, businesses and artisans in France and throughout Europe, analyzes Pascal Canfin. The National Rally voted against financial support for Ukraine. He did not vote for the carbon border tax which allows us to charge for Chinese imports to protect us from our competitors. I could multiply the examples. There is no standardization of the RN. I can go to Dunkirk or Fos-sur-Mer and look an ArcelorMittal employee straight in the eyes and tell him that I protected him from unfair competition from the Chinese. Jordan Bardella, he can’t”.

A permanent veto policy

The permanent policy of vetoing the RN is not practiced by all far-right political parties in the European Parliament. Within their group, another party recently chose a certain standardization by participating in certain text negotiations, according to centrist MEP Sandro Gozi: this is the League of Matteo Salvini. Several observers confirm this, this party therefore has more influence than the RN in Strasbourg, “even on questions which are in the interest of the French” according to Sandro Gozi. He estimates that “the RN, in its anti-European, anti-Macron ardor, votes against, going against the interests of the French.”

“The RN is therefore isolated because it has a very ideological attitude”

Sandro Gozi, Italian centrist MEP

at franceinfo

This attitude is also assumed by the MEP of the National Rally, Gilles Lebreton. There is no question, for example, of the RN participating in the construction of a Europe of health, in the name of a sovereignist political posture. “Yes, because we believe that the EU does not have to interfere in certain areas and therefore we do not participate in the compromise, assumes Gilles Lebreton. We are present, when we have the floor we protest, but when the technical work takes place, we do not participate since we are radically against it.”.

The RN therefore has little influence on laws but, from its presence in the European Parliament, it benefits from a number of advantages: significant funds, strong media visibility with its public interventions in plenary widely tweeted and visibility also at the international. In Brussels, he also has access to a vast network of lobbyists, these very present groups of economic and industrial influences and representatives of civil society. Important assets for their desire to conquer national power.