French far-right: EU elections ‘referendum’ against migrants, Brussels authoritarianism

Marseille hosted the Rassemblement National European election campaign kick-off meeting on Sunday (3 March) with leader Jordan Bardella, flanked by figurehead and deputy Marine Le Pen, taking a big swipe at immigration, the European Union and its executive.

The far-right party has witnessed an increase in popularity ahead of the June 2024 European Parliament elections and is expected to take some 30% of the vote, well ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance, which is hovering around 18%.

Lead candidate Bardella, enjoying a surge in the party’s popularity, told the 8000-strong crowd, “It is quite clear that these European elections on 9 June represent a referendum against being inundated with migrants.”

“It is up to the French people to decide who is allowed to enter the country and who is not. With us, France will protect its borders,” he told the crowd.

To bolster his migration rhetoric, he brought up the recent onboarding of Fabrice Leggeri, disgraced former Frontex boss, into the party.

“He joined Rassemblement National because he refused to let himself be pushed around,” by Brussels, Bardella said to loud cheers from the crowd.

Le Pen called on the French people “to transform their indignation into action,” levying criticism against the EU over not just immigration but also combustion engine rules and other environmental matters.

“Nations must take back the power that the EU has confiscated from them,” she added.

Bardella and Le Pen also argued that countries must stand up against the stealthy establishment of an “EU superstate” that seeks to take all policymaking power on immigration, health, tax, defence, and diplomacy away from the capitals.

But Bardella was quick to note he does not support a ‘Frexit’, instead insisting that the union must change from within, with the help of the far-right and nationalist parties- a stance reiterated in his new campaign slogan “France is back, Europe lives again.”

During the meeting, Bardella also spoke about the ongoing farmers’ protests in France and Europe, stating, “The French farmers’ battle is not just a fight for a profession in particular…but for the entirety of a France that wants to preserve its identity, countryside, gastronomy, traditions” he said.

Bardella and Le Pen also lashed out at Macron.

Le Pen said Macron, who recently received a hostile welcome from farmers at the Paris trade fair, was a president “under siege”.

She also criticised Macron’s recent comments that the deployment of European troops to Ukraine could not be ruled out, saying Macron “thinks he can find political salvation in warlike posturing that astounded the French people”.

Bardella added, “Few elections will shape the future like the one to come.”

(Alice Taylor | Euractiv.com)