Global InformationNational Rally information
National Rally Rassemblement National | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | RN |
| President | Jordan Bardella |
| Vice Presidents |
|
| Parliamentary party leader | Marine Le Pen (National Assembly) |
| Founder | Jean-Marie Le Pen[1] |
| Founded | 5 October 1972 |
| Headquarters | 114 bis rue Michel-Ange 75016 Paris |
| Youth wing | Rassemblement national de la jeunesse |
| Security wing | Department for Protection and Security |
| Membership (2023) | 50,000[2][3] |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Far-right[A][6] |
| National affiliation | Rassemblement bleu Marine (2012–2017) |
| European affiliation | Identity and Democracy Party |
| European Parliament group | Identity and Democracy[nb 1] |
| Colours | Navy blue[nb 2] |
| National Assembly | 88 / 577 |
| Senate | 3 / 348 |
| European Parliament | 19 / 79 |
| Presidencies of Regional Councils | 0 / 17 |
| Regional Councillors | 252 / 1,758 |
| Presidencies of Departmental Councils | 0 / 101 |
| Departmental Councillors | 26 / 4,108 |
| Website | |
| rassemblementnational | |
^ A: The RN is considered part of the radical right, a subset of the far-right that does not oppose democracy.[8][9][10] | |
The National Rally (French: Rassemblement National, pronounced [ʁasɑ̃bləmɑ̃ nɑsjɔnal]; RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (French: Front National, pronounced [fʁɔ̃ nɑsjɔnal]; FN), is a French nationalist and right-wing populist party in France.[11] It is the largest parliamentary opposition group in the National Assembly; it has seen its candidate reach the second round in the 2002, 2017 and 2022 presidential elections. It is an anti-immigration party, advocating significant cuts to legal immigration and protection of French identity,[12] as well as stricter control of illegal immigration. It also advocates for a 'more balanced' and 'independent' French foreign policy by opposing French military intervention in Africa and by distancing France from the American sphere of influence by leaving NATO's integrated command. It supports reform of the European Union (EU) and its related organisations. It also supports economic interventionism and protectionism, and zero tolerance of breaches of law and order.[13] The party has been accused of promoting xenophobia and antisemitism.[14]
The party was founded in 1972 to unify the French nationalist movement. Its political views are nationalist, nativist and anti-globalist. Jean-Marie Le Pen founded the party and was its leader until his resignation in 2011. While the party struggled as a marginal force for its first ten years, it has been a major force of French nationalism since 1984.[15] It has put forward a candidate at every presidential election but one since 1974. In 2002, Jean-Marie came second in the first round, but finished a distant second in the runoff to Jacques Chirac.[16] His daughter Marine Le Pen was elected to succeed him as party leader in 2012. She temporarily stepped down in 2017 in order to concentrate on her presidential candidacy; she resumed her presidency after the election.[17] She headed the party until 2021, when she temporarily resigned again. A year later, Jordan Bardella was elected as her successor.[18]
The party has seen an increase in its popularity and acceptance in French society in recent years. While her father was nicknamed the "Devil of the Republic" by mainstream media and sparked outrage for hate speech, including Holocaust denial and Islamophobia, Marine Le Pen pursued a policy of "de-demonisation" of the party by softening its image and trying to frame the party as being neither right nor left.[19] She endeavoured to extract it from its far-right roots, as well as censuring controversial members like her father, who was suspended and then expelled from the party in 2015.[20] Following her election as the leader of the party in 2011, the popularity of the FN grew.[21] By 2015, the FN had established itself as a major political party in France.[22][23] Sources traditionally labeled the party far-right.[24] However, some media outlets have started to refer to the party as "right-wing" or "nationalist right" instead, arguing that it has substantially moderated from its years under Jean-Marie Le Pen.[11]
At the FN congress of 2018, Marine Le Pen proposed renaming the party Rassemblement national (National Rally),[25] and this was confirmed by a ballot of party members.[26] Formerly strongly Eurosceptic, the National Rally changed policies in 2019, deciding to campaign for a reform of the EU rather than leaving it and to keep the euro as the main currency of France (together with the CFP franc for some collectivities).[27] In 2021, Le Pen announced that she wanted to remain in the Schengen Area, citing "an attachment to the European spirit", but to reserve free movement to nationals of a European Economic Area country, excluding residents and visitors of another Schengen country.[28][29]
Le Pen reached the second round of the 2017 presidential election, receiving 33.9% of the votes in the run-off and losing to Emmanuel Macron. Again in the 2022 election, she faced Macron in the run-off, receiving 41.45% of the votes. In the 2022 parliamentary elections, the National Rally, increased the number of its MPs in the National Assembly from 7 to 89 seats.
- ^ "Vive la difference – has France's Front National changed?". BBC News. 5 December 2015. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ "Après la mode des «mouvements», le grand retour des partis politiques". 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Jordan Bardella lance la campagne des européennes, Marine le Pen celle de l'après-Macron". Le Monde.fr. 16 September 2023.
- ^
- Jens Rydgren (2008). "France: The Front National, Ethnonationalism and Populism". Twenty-First Century Populism. Link.springer.com. pp. 166–180. doi:10.1057/9780230592100_11. ISBN 978-1-349-28476-4.
- "'The nation state is back': Front National's Marine Le Pen rides on global mood". the Guardian. 18 September 2016.
- "Marine Le Pen says sanctions on Russia are not working". The Economist.
- ^
- "Depuis 2011, le FN est devenu "protectionniste au sens large"". Liberation. 21 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
- Taylor, Adam (8 January 2015). "French far-right leader seeks to reintroduce death penalty after Charlie Hebdo attack". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ Cohen, Dinah (22 September 2023). "Sénatoriales : le Conseil d'État juge que l'étiquette «extrême droite» doit s'appliquer aux candidats RN". Le Figaro (in French).
- ^ Garnier, Christophe-Cécil (7 December 2015). "Quelle doit être la couleur du Front national sur les cartes électorales?" (in French). Slate. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ Ivaldi, Gilles (18 May 2016). "A new course for the French radical right? The Front National and "de-demonisation"". In Akkerman, Tjitske; de Lange, Sarah L.; Rooduijn, Matthijs (eds.). Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe: Into the Mainstream?. Routledge. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-317-41978-5. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ Forchtner, Bernhard (September 2019). "Climate change and the far right". Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 10 (5): e604. Bibcode:2019WIRCC..10E.604F. doi:10.1002/wcc.604. S2CID 202196807.
- ^ Forchtner, Bernhard (2020). The Far Right and the Environment: Politics, Discourse and Communication. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-10402-9. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ a b Vinocur, Nicholas (12 February 2024). "How Marine Le Pen turned respectable (and why you shouldn't be fooled)". POLITICO. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ Davies 2012, pp. 46–55.
- ^ "22 MESURES POUR 2022 (22 measures for 2022)". Rassemblement National. 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "National Rally". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ Shields 2007, p. 229.
- ^ DeClair 1999, pp. 46, 56 and 71.
- ^ "Marine Le Pen temporarily steps down as Front National leader to concentrate on presidential bid". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ "France's far right replaces Le Pen with Jordan Bardella – DW – 11/05/2022". dw.com. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ Softening image:
- "The French National Front: On its way to power?". Policy-network.net. 22 January 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
Devil of the Republic:- Craw, Victoria (23 January 2015). "Marine Le Pen National Front leader | Who is Marine Le Pen?". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
Holocaust denial:- "Jean-Marie Le Pen fined again for dismissing Holocaust as 'detail'". theguardian. 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
Islamophobia:- "Jean-Marie Le Pen condamné pour incitation à la haine raciale". Le Monde.fr. lemonde.fr. 24 February 2005. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ Jean-Marie suspension and expulsion:
- "France National Front: Jean-Marie Le Pen suspended". BBC News. 4 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- "Jean-Marie Le Pen, exclu du Front national, fera "bien évidemment" un recours en justice". L'Express. 20 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ "Local elections confirm a quarter of French voters support Front National". openeurope.org.uk. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ John Lichfield (1 March 2015). "Rise of the French far right: Front National party could make sweeping gains at this month's local elections". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "France – Poll gives France's far-right National Front party boost ahead of regional vote". France24.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ Abridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right: Academic:
- Azéma, Jean-Pierre; Winock, Michel (1994). Histoire de l'extrême droite en France. Éditions du Seuil. ISBN 9782020232005.
- Camus & Lebourg 2017
- DeClair 1999
- Hobolt, Sara; De Vries, Catherine (16 June 2020). Political Entrepreneurs: The Rise of Challenger Parties in Europe. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691194752.
- Joly, Bertrand (2008). Nationalistes et Conservateurs en France, 1885–1902. Les Indes Savantes.
- Kitschelt, Herbert; McGann, Anthony (1995). The radical right in Western Europe: a comparative analysis. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. pp. 91–120. ISBN 0472106635.
- McGann, Anthony; Kitschelt, Herbert (1997). The Radical Right in Western Europe A Comparative Analysis. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472084418.
- Mayer, Nonna (January 2013). "From Jean-Marie to Marine Le Pen: Electoral Change on the Far Right". Parliamentary Affairs. 66 (1): 160–178. doi:10.1093/pa/gss071.
- Messina, Anthony (2015). "The political and policy impacts of extreme right parties in time and context". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 38 (8): 1355–1361. doi:10.1080/01419870.2015.1016071. S2CID 143522149.
- Mondon, Aurelien (2015). "The French secular hypocrisy: the extreme right, the Republic and the battle for hegemony". Patterns of Prejudice. '49 (4): 392–413. doi:10.1080/0031322X.2015.1069063. S2CID 146600042.
- Mudde, Cas (25 October 2019). The Far Right Today and The ideology of the extreme right. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1509536856.
- Rydgren, Jens (2008). France: The Front National, Ethnonationalism and Populism. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781349284764.
- Shields 2007
- Simmons, Harvey G. (1996). The French National Front: The Extremist Challenge To Democracy. Westview Press. ISBN 978-0813389790.
- Williams, Michelle Hale (January 2011). "A new era for French far right politics? Comparing the FN under two Le Pens and The Impact of Radical Right-Wing Parties in West European Democracies". Análise Social. 201 (1): 679–695.News:
- "Victory for France's conservatives in local elections". Deutsche Welle. AP, AFP, Reuters. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- Bamat, Joseph (23 April 2011). "New poll shows far right could squeeze out Sarkozy". France 24. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- Dodman, Benjamin (23 November 2014). "France's cash-strapped far right turns to Russian lender". France24. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015.
- Erlanger, Steven; de Freytas-Tamura, Kimiko (17 December 2016). "E.U. Faces Its Next Big Test as France's Election Looms". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- Frosch, Jon (7 March 2011). "Far-right's Marine Le Pen leads in shock new poll". France 24. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- Lichfield, John (1 March 2015). "Rise of the French far right: Front National party could make sweeping gains at this month's local elections". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- Meichtry, Stacy; Bisserbe, Noemie (19 August 2015). "Le Pen Family Drama Splits France's Far Right National Front Party". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- Polakow-Suransky, Sasha. "The ruthlessly effective rebranding of Europe's new far right". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- Tourret, Nathalie (14 August 2010). "Japanese and European far right gathers in Tokyo". France 24. Archived from the original on 15 February 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- Van, Sonia (29 July 2011). "France – A Guide to Europe's Right-Wing Parties and Extremist Groups". Time. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Le Monde, March 2018was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Le Monde, June 2018was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Barbière, Cécile (16 April 2019). "Le Pen's Rassemblement National revises stance towards EU and the euro". euractiv.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Après l'euro et le Frexit, nouveau revirement européen de Marine Le Pen". Le HuffPost (in French). 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Marine Le Pen n'envisage plus de suspendre les accords de Schengen". 20minutes.fr (in French). 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
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