The interim president of the RN mobilized for the legislative elections, sparing “the patriot camp”, which could be supported in the event of failure of an RN candidate in the second round or in the event of a triangular one.
This is the first time that the traditional May Day demonstration has not been chaired by a member of the Le Pen family. Whether it was Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front, which became the National Rally, or his daughter Marine, who succeeded him in 2011. On Sunday, it was Jordan Bardella, acting president of the party, who took charge to lay a wreath in front of a statue of Joan of Arc in Paris. He arrived around 11 a.m. at Place Saint-Augustin in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, laid the wreath and then responded to the journalists present.
A few minutes earlier, Marine Le Pen, discreet since her April 24 defeat against Emmanuel Macron, had posted a video on social networks in which she is mobilizing for the June legislative elections.
Read also: Marine Le Pen, absent from the traditional tribute to Joan of Arc, breaks the silence via a video
“She is coming out of a presidential campaign which has been trying”, justified Jordan Bardella, welcoming the “13 million votes” gathered. “She is now preparing for this battle of the legislative elections. I came to tell the French people that the ballot is not over, that there is a third round”. “It would be implausible today to leave full powers to Emmanuel Macron, insisted the MEP. I call on the French to take responsibility, I call on them above all to go and vote”.
“Reconquest!”, “LR”, “a sovereignist fringe of the left … in the patriot camp according to him
While the RN was to organize a videoconference at the end of the day for its future candidates, Jordan Bardella clarified that there will be “RN candidates in all the constituencies. It is the least respect that we owe to our voters who placed us in the second round of the presidential election. He also showed himself open, in case an RN candidate is not in the second round, “there may be in the interest of the national camp, support for the best placed patriotic candidates”.
A few moments later on BFM TV, he gave more details for the triangulars, indicating there too that he was “perfectly prepared, if the National Rally were not to be able to win in the constituencies” – especially when arriving third with “a candidate from the better placed patriot camp” – “so that we can withdraw our candidate”. Which candidates can be considered “patriots”, according to him? He then listed, while recognizing “political disagreements”, the party of Eric Zemmour Reconquête!, “the Republicans”, “a sovereignist fringe of the left”, “Nicolas Dupont-Aignan”.
The goal, he said in front of the Joan of Arc statue, is to “bring as many patriotic deputies into the National Assembly as possible”. On BFM, he warned against the “Macronie bloc which will be the bloc of deregulation for five years” and the “Islamo-leftist bloc which is today in the process of constituting Mr. Mélenchon”.