Marine Le Pen of the Rassemblement National has again risen to become the main contender in the French presidential elections against Emmanuel Macron. Macron, the current French president, campaigned relatively less compared to Le Pen due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and his absence was due to France’s role in bringing the atrocities to a halt.
Following the end of the first round of presidential elections, 27.6% of the vote allowed Emmanuel Macron to enter the second round of the French presidential election scheduled to be held on April 24. Following Macron is Le Pen who has won 23.42% of the vote, now both will face each other after two weeks as France decides on its next leader.
Le Pen is famous for her right-wing beliefs but this time she has found support among people of France. The Rassemblement National which stands for National Rally is the new name for her party which was earlier known as National Front. The name change, according to French experts speaking to news agency AFP, is to show voters that she is aware of the troubles the French public face.
Hence, much of Le Pen’s electoral campaigning did focus on rising prices and the cost of living. Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie Le Pen, was a hated personality for Muslim French and immigrants who have come to live in the neighbourhoods of Lyon, Marseille and Paris, but the Rassemblement National has now softened its image.
Le Pen says she is not afraid of foreigners but intends to change the immigration laws. She seeks to limit by 75% the arrival of migrants linked to family connections and the right to asylum. Le Pen’s poll campaign focuses on ‘national priority’. Under ‘national priority’, the French citizens will be entitled to housing and other social services over foreigners and those who have been granted asylum.
Le Pen has also softened her stance on Islam. She will not allow wearing the veil outside, when using public services and in all public spaces in France but defended the right of ‘its complete freedom of organisation and worship’. “I do not intend to attack Islam, which is a religion like any other,” Le Pen said in one of debates countering France’s interior minister Gérald Darmanin. Le Pen insists that the fight is against Islamist ideologies.
Marine Le Pen is also against ‘trench warfare’ against men but considers herself a feminist. She also has softened her stance on adoption of children by same-sex couples. On Europe and NATO, her stance softens but she wants to exit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which she calls a Trojan horse for Islamic extremism. She, however, wants to move closer to Russia and Hungary but has decided not to leave the European Union and the euro.
Her softened stance has given her a slight advantage but will it be enough for France to get a right-wing president we shall only know on April 24.
(with inputs from Le Monde and AFP)
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