Who started the party? The National Assembly was founded in 1972 under the name Front National (National Front). It was started as an anti-immigration party by Jean-Marie Le Pen. – Right from the start, the party was clearly far-right, explains Kjerstin Aukrust, associate professor of French literature and regional studies at the University of Oslo. She says the party brought in members who came from violent groups, and members from groups who had supported the Vichy government. A government that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. For many French people, it is one of the reasons why they can never imagine voting for the party. Photo: Alain Nogues / Sygma/Getty Images With a patch on his eye, the party leader profiled himself as a kind of pirate who wanted to change French politics. He hinted that he had lost an eye in a fight during an election campaign, but later wrote in his biography that it was due to an accident that happened when he was going to set up a tent. Jean-Marie Le Pen ran several times as a presidential candidate and in 2002 he made it all the way to the last round of voting. He lost it to the right-winger Jacques Chirac. What happened when the daughter took over? In 2011, his daughter Marine Le Pen took over the position of party leader. While his father was largely content with leading a protest party, Marine had other ambitions for the National Front. – She made major changes in the party to make it more stable. She worked with the stigma attached to both the party name and her father’s name, says Aukrust to news. In 2015, Jean-Marie Le Pen was expelled from the party for several anti-Semitic statements. Among other things, he called the Nazi gas chambers “a detail” in the history of World War II. The party’s founder went to court to stop the expulsion, but was only successful in that he could retain the title of “honorary president” in the National Front. Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen from when they were on speaking terms. Here from 2011 when the daughter was elected to take over the leadership position. Photo: ALAIN JOCARD / AFP In 2018, the party changed its name from Nasjonal Front to Rassemblement National. It, too, is an attempt to create distance from a burdened past. What kind of politics do they stand for? The most important issue for the party has always been to limit immigration to France. They want it at a minimum, and the party wants it to be possible to throw immigrants out of the country. They also want to introduce a requirement for asylum seekers to apply for asylum in France from outside the country’s borders. Then they want to enshrine in the constitution something they call a national priority. – This means that “real” French people must have priority for certain jobs and for public support schemes such as municipal housing. In that sense, this is systematic discrimination, says Aukrust. The party will also limit access to social assistance. Some must be reserved for French people, while other benefits must be provided with a minimum requirement of the number of years of work in France. One promise is to work for increased purchasing power. In the party programme, it is stated that they must pursue a policy that will give people higher wages. They will lower a number of different taxes, while taxes on financial income will be increased. The controversial pension reform that President Emmanuel Macron introduced is to be reversed. Kjerstin Aukrust follows French politics closely. Photo: news – Here the party is completely in line with the left. They want the retirement age down to 60 or 62, continues Aukrust. Furthermore, the party wants national management of energy prices, and they want only European citizens to have free travel within the Schengen countries. – The party has a strong appeal to the French working class who are struggling to make ends meet. Those with low education, who would have liked to vote for the left in the past, but whom the left has lost its grip on, she says. Who are the elected representatives? Today’s party leader is Jordan Bardella. The 28-year-old is also the party’s prime ministerial candidate. He was born in one of the poor suburbs of Paris. He grew up partly there, with his mother, but also lived with his father in a more privileged district. Already at the age of 16, he joined the party. He eventually put his studies on hold to work full-time as a politician. Bardella is thus the first party leader who is not related to Le Pen, but it can be mentioned that until recently he was cohabiting with the niece of Marine Le Pen, Nolwenn Olivier. 28-year-old Jordan Bardella has struck a chord with the youngsters. He has a couple of million followers on social media. Photo: BERTRAND GUAY / AFP Marine Le Pen is the party’s presidential candidate. She is 55 years old and grew up with her father’s politics. She has told how it affected her and her family when someone tried to kill her father by placing a bomb outside their house. The then eight-year-old girl realized that her family was unlike any other. At 18, she joined the party. Jean-Philippe Tanguy has been in the National Assembly for two years. He is mentioned as a possible member of the government, if Bardella becomes prime minister. Kjerstin Aukrust says many of today’s representatives are well-established, respected and with extensive experience. – Marine Le Pen, who has been parliamentary leader since 2022, has driven the party whip quite hard, she says. Among the well-known names that can be mentioned are the party’s spokesperson Philippe Ballard, Sophie Blanc or Louis Aliot. The latter was elected to the National Assembly for the party in 2017. In 2020 he became mayor of Perpignan. Not to forget Sébastien Chenu, who is vice-president of the party. What about the new ones coming in? So it seems that the party group may become quite a lot bigger after Sunday’s election. – Then it is clear that you do not have as good control over who is selected. We constantly see that someone appears who has not had as good a background check, says Aukrust. This week, for example, a representative from Normandy was asked to resign after it became known that she had posted a picture of herself wearing a Nazi Luftwaffe hat on social media. Photo: Screenshot Others have been criticized for racist and inappropriate behavior. – This is one of the things Le Pen fears most. That stigma from history will return and destroy the work she has done to normalize the party. And you see that yes, even if the party has changed, it is only to a certain extent. Much of the extreme and xenophobic ideology is still alive and well, says Kjerstin Aukrust. Hear more about the French election in this week’s Urix podcast: Published 06/07/2024, at 18.43
ttn-69
What is the French National Assembly? – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
