Marine Le Pen’s party celebrates its 50th anniversary without the patriarch

An embarrassing anniversary. Marine Le Pen’s party discreetly celebrates the 50th anniversary of the National Front (FN), today National Rally (RN), without the presence of its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Half a century after its creation, the party is stronger than ever and shows political muscle in the National Assembly. “From a contesting party, we have made a party prepared to govern,” Marine Le Pen wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. The far-right paid tribute “to all the militants, who have been working for the national cause for 50 years,” but she did not name her father in the tweet.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, persona non grata since he was expelled by his own daughter from the party in 2015 for his anti-Semitic proclamations, is not invited to the National Regroupment colloquium that will take place in the National Assembly. The patriarch will celebrate it in a few days at a private party at his mansion in Montretout, on the outskirts of Paris.

On October 5, 1972, Jean-Marie Le Pen and other extreme right-wing radical figures founded the National Front. Among its founders were members of the neo-fascist political movement New Order, anti-Semites, anti-Gaullists, Nazi collaborators and nostalgic for French Algeria. Jean-Marie Le Pen, who considers himself above all “a patriot”, stirred up French politics for five decades with his outbursts and his racist and anti-Semitic proclamations. He believes in “the inequality of races”, considers the gas chambers that the Nazis used to exterminate the Jews “a detail” and was confident that Ebola could “solve” the problems of immigration in three months.

Le Pen Sr., 94, has been a presidential candidate five times. The historic leader of the French extreme right gave a surprise in 2002 by qualifying for the second round of the presidential elections. He was defeated with 17.79% of the vote, compared to 82.21% for Jacques Chirac. In 2011, Marine Le Pen took the reins of the National Front and began a clean-up effort to expel the most radical elements of the formation, soften the discourse, sweep racism and anti-Semitism under the rug, make it more presentable to the voters and transform it into a party capable of governing.

“de-diabolization”

The far-right leader renamed the party National Regrouping in 2018, a name change that the patriarch did not like, who described it as “the most severe blow that the National Front has received since its foundation.” A decade of “de-demonization” seems to have paid off. As in 2017, Marine Le Pen managed to qualify for the second round of the presidential elections in April. She got 41.5% of the votes compared to 58.5% for Emmanuel Macron, who was re-elected president. National Regrouping achieved 89 deputies in the June legislative elections, a record. The irruption of the far-right candidate Éric Zemmour in the presidential campaign contributed to this whitewashing. Next to Zemmour, Le Pen seemed subdued.

National Regrouping continues to be a party of the extreme right, despite softening its speech in the face of the gallery. Against the economic liberalism of the National Front, Marine Le Pen advocates protectionism and economic patriotism. The far-right now claims the figure of President Charles de Gaulle, reviled by his father for having renounced Algeria.

«Denialism, revisionism, closeness with ex-Nazis. The National Front is also that. De-demonization attempts will not suffice. ‘Normalization’ will never hide it”, according to Renaissance, Macron’s party, which has launched a campaign on social networks with the hashtag #50ansdeFHaine (50 years of hate) to remind the French “where they come from and who they are” .

In November, Regrouping National will elect the new president of the party at a congress. For the first time in its 50-year history, he will not bear the surname Le Pen. MEP Jordan Bardella and the mayor of Perpignan, Louis Alliot, are contesting the position. Bardella is the boyfriend of Nolwenn Olivier, the niece of Marine Le Pen and Alliot was a couple of the far-right leader for a few years. So, in the end, everything will be in the hands of the clan.