Paris The French presidential candidate seems surprisingly relaxed. The last few days have been tough for Marine Le Pen because some of her confidants have left to join the competition. But Le Pen smiles and jokes, for example about her own pension: “I haven’t even figured out when I can retire. Oh yes, my three children count too.”
The 53-year-old right-wing extremist speaks at the headquarters of her Rassemblement National (RN) party in the posh west of Paris on the subject of pensions. Unlike many of her competitors, she does not want to raise the official retirement age of 62. She also explains: “I am the president who fights for purchasing power.” This is one of the big issues in the elections on April 10th and 24th.
But the media present are more interested in the competition with Éric Zemmour, 63. That’s why a Le Pen spokeswoman announces to be on the safe side: She only answers questions about pensions. Of course, at some point you come across Nicolas Bay, who has just left Le Pen’s party and gone to far-right competitor Zemmour and his party Reconquête (reconquest).
Le Pen complains that Bay has been badmouthing her party. He expanded his criticism in an interview with the daily newspaper “Le Figaro”. He spoke of “doubts” about Le Pen’s strategy and believes there will be a massive outflow of voters to Zemmour, who is banking on a mixture of conservative and far-right ideas. Bay also criticized an “intolerance to any criticism” in Le Pen’s party.
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Le Pen took over the party leadership from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011 and is currently handing it to her confidante Jordan Bardella on an interim basis during the campaign. She is the third daughter of the far-right party founder, but has prevailed with her single-minded character, which those close to her say is similar to her father.
Le Pen is trying to change its image
In recent years, Le Pen has softened her political stance. It has tried to change its image, no longer acts against the EU and less against Muslims, its economic line is social in order to appeal to the working class. She even discarded the party name Front National. However, she has lost many supporters who can no longer be found.
Nicolas Bay is not just anyone, but a symbol for the struggle of the right-wing extremists. Among Le Pen’s advisors, the 44-year-old lawyer represented the type of traditional Catholic father from a better family, an arch-conservative class of voters, some of whom also feel attracted to right-wing extremist ideas. The former Le Pen campaign spokesman and MEP was part of RN’s pro-liberal economic wing and advocates for protecting French identity. He now finds these ideas better represented by Zemmour, who appeals to a better-off constituency than Le Pen.
The articulate TV presenter relies on a mixture of conservative and right-wing extremist ideas.
(Photo: dpa)
Zemmour jumped into a gap. Even more right-wing than Le Pen, he incites anti-refugees and appeals to a patriotic and middle-class constituency. It doesn’t seem to bother them that the eloquent TV presenter has been convicted several times for incitement to hatred. In the most recent polls for the first ballot, he came in at around 15 percent, just behind Le Pen at around 17 percent. The conservative Valérie Pécresse is equal with Zemmour, President Emmanuel Macron at 25 percent.
Le Pen described Zemmour as radical, he was like her party was ten years ago. But she is on the defensive against the newcomer in politics. Bay is not the only defector, several have joined Zemmour recently, including lawyer Gilbert Collard, who was Le Pen’s figurehead in the South and was there to attract better-off voters. A few years ago, after losing the 2017 presidential election, Marion Maréchal, Marine Le Pen’s niece, also withdrew.
For weeks she has hesitated whether to support her aunt or even her opponent Zemmour. She announced that she leans more towards Zemmour. Her aunt responded: “It’s brutal.” Maréchal, a former member of the French Parliament, recently declared that she wanted to return to politics. She has previously campaigned for a large unity of the right and right-wing extremists. So Zemmour lures her and offers Maréchal the post of prime minister if he wins.
The party lost tens of thousands of followers
He named one condition for this: she must confess to him before the first ballot. With that, Zemmour could play two trump cards: hurt Le Pen and ensnare the female voters. Jean-Marie Le Pen, meanwhile, explained a little half-heartedly that he would support his daughter but had “sympathy” for Zemmour.
Marine Le Pen apparently has another problem. Bay speaks of 60,000 party supporters in 2017. Today there are only 20,000. The party is not doing well financially. Le Pen is having trouble getting credit for her candidacy in Europe. It moved out of its old party headquarters in Nanterre almost a year ago and downsized. According to the party, the new seat should be a third cheaper.
Five years ago, Le Pen ran against Macron in the runoff, but this time it is not certain that she will get that far. Your candidacy currently seems a little like your last stand.
More: Macron’s fight for a second term will be decided in the conservative camp