French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) chief Jordan Bardella has vowed to work together with other anti-EU forces to create a blocking majority and essentially kill what he described as a “federalist coup d’état” pushed forward by Europhiles.
Bardella appeared cautious about the current polls, currently showing his party ranking first, and attempted to fish votes from the French centre-right as well as downplay fears about potential electoral losses toward Reconquête!, another far-right party whose EU list is led by Marine Le Pen’s niece.
“The European elections are shaping up to be very complicated for the presidential majority,” Bardella, who also heads his party’s list for the EU elections, told the press on Monday.
For now, polls for the French and other far-right parties seem promising.
In France, the latest polls suggest that Bardella’s Rassemblement National has just over 28% of intentions to vote, well ahead of its closest rival, Macron’s presidential majority group Renaissance (Renew Europe), currently polling around 18%.
At the EU level, Euractiv’s partner Europe Elects, which produces forecasts based on the average of national polls, projects that the far right ID group in the EU Parliament will be the third political force, behind EU centre-right and the socialists.
Read more: EU election forecast: Far-right consolidates third position, Italy’s left gains ground
Still, while Bardella appears cautious about the polls, he is trying to fish votes from the centre-right Les Républicains (EPP), currently polling at 11%.
He has already called on “voters close to Les Républicains come and work alongside us”, stressing that polls “indicate a dynamic, but they are photographs at a given moment”.
But Rassemblement National could lose votes to Zemmour’s Reconquête! Party, another far-right party, especially as former Rassemblement National member and Marine Le Pen’s niece, Marion Maréchal Le Pen, now leads Reconquête!’s EU list, which currently has 5-8% in voting intentions.
In any event, if Reconquête! candidates were to join the European Parliament, they would sit in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
An EU blocking majority
Far from worrying about this, Bardella instead recalled the ties between ID and ECR, some members of which have been working hand in hand for several years.
“We have stepped up our contacts with potential partners”, which, for example, include Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party and the Spanish VOX party, he said.
Asked about merging ID and ECR, Bardella said he does not know, though it goes without saying that the aim is to “create a blocking minority” to break the current majority coalition made up of the EPP, Renew Europe and the Socialists (Socialists and Democrats, S&D).
Already, Bardella is pleased with narrowing the voting gap on several texts, such as the reform of the EU treaties.
According to Bardella, these two texts illustrate the “debate between two great visions of society” that could materialise during the elections – with Rassemblement National and its allies favouring greater national sovereignty and those favouring a more integrated Europe.
Indeed, “restoring France’s voice in Europe at a time when a veritable federalist coup d’état is being prepared” will be one of the key axes of the French far-right party’s programme, Bardella added as he expressed readiness to wage a “civilisational battle”.
Meanwhile, Bardella also outlined the main thrusts of the party’s full programme, which will be unveiled on 3 March.
EU elections: Mid-terms for French elections
In addition to the battle against federalism, Rassemblement National wants to tackle the issues of EU agriculture, immigration enlargement, AI, and environmental policies.
However, for Bardella, the EU elections on 9 June are more than just a stepping stone to the French presidential elections in 2027.
“The political party that comes out on top [in the 2024 elections] will probably be the one in charge of the alternation after 2027”, he said.
He explained that EU elections are “the last opportunity to sanction the policies of the government and Emmanuel Macron”, like American-style mid-terms.
However, the duel between Bardella and Renaissance could begin earlier than expected, especially as Bardella said he “wishes to debate” newly-appointed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, to whom he already wished “good luck”.
(Paul Messad | Euractiv.fr – Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos | Euractiv.com)
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Source: euractiv.com
