The verdict is in: the National Rally (NR) and its leader, Marine Le Pen, have been found to have employed fictitious European parliament assistants between 2004 and 2016. The fraudulent scheme enabled the misappropriation of around €2.9m in European funds, and Le Pen has now been barred from holding public office for five years. Could this mark the end for the National Rally? Highly unlikely – and the reason lies in the party’s strategy.
During the trial, Le Pen deliberately maintained silence in response to the allegations – a tactic some outlets dismissed as evidence of a weak defence, even questioning her credibility. Yet this quiet is far from a sign of weakness; it reflects a long-established approach that consistently shuns conventional manoeuvres in favour of an intentionally unpredictable stance.
The origins of this strategy date back to 2011, when she set in motion the “de-demonisation” of the NR. This was not just an exercise in recalibrating the party’s image and rhetoric; it was a move to sever ties with the extremist legacy that had long marred her family’s name. Her rebranding transformed the Front National into the National Rally and charted a new course for the party.
This process also involved a purge of party members who openly endorsed the Vichy regime – a purge so uncompromising that it resulted in the banishment of her own father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. By casting him aside as a cornerstone of her de-demonisation campaign, she demonstrated a readiness to make brutal sacrifices. Now, she may well have to repeat this tactic, sacrificing herself to clear the path for the rise of the NR’s prodigy, Jordan Bardella.
The author raises what seems a complicated issue, which translates into something like Real Politik.
His argument follows some common steps, and these are often used when coping with the extreme right( not an expert in French poltics):
- Marine Le Pen isn’t/ wasn’t too bad, compared to her Father and maybe with the new surging Leader.
- The rise of the new party leader Bardella thanks to tik-tok tactics
- Bardella is polled to gain 35 à 36% ( des Français se sont dit prêts à voter pour Bardella), which poses significant threat to the center and left parties
- The Left must come up with a good strategy for them to counter this rise, but will they?
The extreme right (and also the Trumpists & Putinist) are calling this a breach to democracy. Basically, gaslighting and issuing methodical disinformation about democratic values.
Leftist and Centrist fear, that they won’t find a good political Programme to firewall a charismatic extreme right Populist like Bardella (Or fill in any other name).
From my Political analysis point of view, this isn’t a situation unique to France. If democratic parties from Europe want to safeguard democracy, they will need to step up. In order to do so, they must start to unite, work from strength and not fear, and also use an anti-propaganda playbook. People and Politicians are still somewhat naive about the force of Propaganda,imo. Failing to do that, will result in political failure against the surging extreme Populists.
What we can appreciate though are the failguards of democratic values in Europe. If enough voters realise what is at stake here, democracy should remain safe, but not without continuous effort, both from voters and politicians.
I also miss mentioning “the elephant in the room”.: we, Europe and our values, are Under Siege. Sometimes internally and more often externally. This democratic “emergency”, unfortunately sometimes calls for “seemingly undemocratic” methods, because our politics relies on vows taken, trust and good husbandry.
So yes, we must clean the houses of certain individuals, those who are judged traitors to the European cause, while posing as democratic Politicians. We unfortunately live in such times, where we no longer can take the risk of appeasement nor do we have the luxury of forgiving individuals, whom by a constutinual court have been judged "guilty ". I am also hereby trusting to the courts and due to prcess. But, only to the extent of what my political engaged citizenship allows me. Ergo, one must use one own critical thinking, as a way to protect any bias or influence, within and without. It will always be a difficult balancing act. (ed: some polishing)
