She has opposed the emigration of French Jews to Israel in response to radical Islam, explaining: "The Jews of France are Frenchmen, they're at home here, and they must stay here and not emigrate. EU, Europe, Front National, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine Le Pen, National Front, National Rally, Nationalism, Populism, Radical Right, Rassemblement National [85] The party managed to draw supporters from the mainstream right, including some high-profile defectors from the RPR, UDF, and the National Centre of Independents and Peasants (CNIP). [28] Rassemblement national had already been used as the name of a French party, the Rassemblement National Français, led by the extreme-right lawyer Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour. National Rally has enjoyed electoral success locally, nationally, and in the European Parliament. [120][190][191], Under her leadership, Marine Le Pen has been more clear in her support for protectionism, while she has criticised globalism and capitalism for certain industries. [202][221] The Independent said the loans "take Moscow's attempt to influence the internal politics of the EU to a new level. [53], In the 1974 presidential election, Le Pen failed to find a mobilising theme for his campaign. [70] This "socialist takeover" led to a radicalisation in centre-right, anti-communist, and anti-socialist voters. Its other major policies include opposition to French membership of NATO. [134] In the end, Chirac won the presidential run-off with an unprecedented 82.2% of the vote and with 71% of his votes—according to polls—cast simply "to block Le Pen". [76] By July, 17% of opinion poll respondents held a positive opinion of the FN. In 2007, it was part of the short-lived Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty group. [73] By October 1982, Le Pen supported the prospect of deals with the mainstream right, provided that the FN did not have to soften its position on key issues. [124] Support for the parties was almost equal in the 1999 European election, as the FN polled its lowest national score since 1984 with just 5.7%, and the MNR won 3.3%. [137], A new electoral system of two-round voting had been introduced for the 2004 regional elections, in part in an attempt to reduce the FN's influence in regional councils. The National Rally has opposed the European Union and its predecessor organizations since the party's creation. [136] It nevertheless outpolled Mégret's MNR, which won a mere 1.1% support, even though it had fielded the same number of candidates. [135] The FN failed to hold on to Le Pen's support for the 2002 legislative elections, in which it got 11.3% of the vote. Stéphane Ravier. He instead made an unambiguous commitment to popular capitalism, and started espousing an extremely market liberal and anti-statist programme. [68] The election was won by François Mitterrand of the Socialist Party (PS), which gave the political left national power for the first time in the Fifth Republic; he then dissolved the National Assembly and called a snap legislative election. [182] He visited Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in 1990, and subsequently considered him a friend. 2 875 members. [123], Mégret and his faction left the FN in January 1999 and founded the National Republican Movement (MNR), effectively splitting the FN in half at most levels. Or left? [232] Pursuing her de-demonisation policy, in October 2011, Marine Le Pen, as new president of the National Front, joined the European Alliance for Freedom (EAF). Along with some other European parties, the FN in 2010 visited Japan's Issuikai ("right-wing") movement and the Yasukuni Shrine. [140], For the 2007 presidential election, Le Pen and Mégret agreed to join forces. [93][100] The FN only got 5% in the 1988 cantonal elections, while the RPR announced it would reject any alliance with the FN, now including at local level. [85] Former collaborators were also accepted in the party, as Le Pen urged the need for "reconciliation", arguing that forty years after the war the only important question was whether or not "they wish to serve their country". "[196] It also proposed breaking all institutional ties back to the Treaty of Rome, while it returned to supporting a common European currency to rival the United States dollar. Nous utilisons des cookies pour vous garantir la meilleure expérience sur notre site. [233] The EAF is a pan-European sovereigntist platform founded late 2010 that is recognised by the European Parliament. France's National Front leader Marine Le Pen proposes rebranding as 'Rassemblement National' She has tried to capitalize on a newfound visibility after her near-success at the presidential election. In April 2017, she temporarily stepped down in order to concentrate on her presidential candidacy. At the end of 2011, the National Front withdrew from the far-right Alliance of European National Movements and joined the more moderate European Alliance of Freedom. [105] By the early 1990s, some mainstream politicians began employing anti-immigration rhetoric. Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance. [81] Notably, the election used proportional representation and was considered to have a low level of importance by the public, which played to the party's advantage. Le Rassemblement National est membre de Rassemblement National - 76/78 rue des Suisses 92000 Nanterre - 01 41 20 20 00 | Tous droits réservés | Mentions légales | Nous contacter Nous utilisons des cookies pour vous garantir la meilleure expérience sur notre site. [49] In 1973 the party created a youth movement, the Front national de la jeunesse (National Front of the Youth, FNJ). [201], Marine Le Pen described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "defender of the Christian heritage of European civilisation. [130] In the early 2000s the party denounced the Schengen, Maastricht, and Amsterdam treaties as foundations for "a supranational entity spelling the end of France. En renseignant vos données personnelles dans les formulaires du site, vous acceptez que nous les utilisions à des fins de communication. ... History is on our side and will bring us victory." [142] In the 2010 regional elections the FN appeared to have re-emerged on the political scene after surprisingly winning almost 12% of the overall vote and 118 seats. It has MEPs from ten countries , with the majority coming from Italy’s Lega party , the Rassemblement National … [93] Using a populist tone, Le Pen presented himself as the representative of the people against the "gang of four" (RPR, UDF, PS, Communist Party), while the central theme of his campaign was "national preference". [92] In the regional elections held on the same day, it won 137 seats, and gained representation in 21 of the 22 French regional councils. [79], Le Pen protested the media boycott against his party by sending letters to President Mitterrand in mid-1982. Or something altogether different? [22] In the second round of voting, Le Pen was defeated 66.1% to 33.9% by her rival Emmanuel Macron of En Marche![162]. ", "Marine Le Pen temporarily steps down as Front National leader to concentrate on presidential bid", "The French National Front: On its way to power? She argues that the United States is leading a new Cold War against Russia. [52] The FNJ were banned from the party later that year. [129] This resulted in the first presidential run-off since 1969 without a leftist candidate, and the first ever with a candidate of the far-right. [47][48], The National Front fared poorly in the 1973 legislative elections, receiving 0.5% of the national vote (although Le Pen won 5% in his Paris constituency). [127], For the 2002 presidential election, opinion polls had predicted a run-off between incumbent President Chirac and PS candidate Lionel Jospin. [228] As the MSI evolved into the National Alliance, it chose to distance itself from the FN. Following the Arab Spring (2011) rebellions in several countries, Marine Le Pen has been campaigning on halting the migration of Tunisian and Libyan immigrants to Europe. and in 1987 referred to the Nazi gas chambers as "a point of detail of the history of the Second World War". [218] Interviewed by the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz about the fact that some of her European senior colleagues had formed alliances with, and visited, some Israeli settlers and groups, Marine Le Pen said: "The shared concern about radical Islam explains the relationship ... but it is possible that behind it is also the need of the visitors from Europe to change their image in their countries ... As far as their partners in Israel are concerned, I myself don't understand the idea of continuing to develop the settlements. In 2005, Jean-Marie Le Pen wrote in the far-right weekly magazine Rivarol that the German occupation of France "was not particularly inhumane, even if there were a few blunders, inevitable in a country of 640,000 square kilometres (250,000 sq. The party has extreme, fascist roots but under the leadership of Marine Le Pen it has attempted to ‘de-demonise’ its image, including renaming itself in … [248], In March 2018, the position of vice-president replaced that of General Secretary. [86], For the 1986 legislative elections the FN took advantage of a new proportional representation system that had been imposed by Mitterrand in order to moderate a foreseeable defeat for his PS. However, 8 deputies were elected (6 FN and 2 affiliated), the best number for the FN in a parliamentary election using a majoritarian electoral system since its creation (proportional representation was used in the 1986 elections). [165][166] On 1 June, Le Pen announced that the name change was approved by party adherents with 80.81% in favour. In other issues, Le Pen opposed the invasions of Iraq, led by the United States, both in the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War. Access to page content (press "Enter") Direct access to language menu (press "Enter") ... Rassemblement national. As to the existence of gas chambers, it is up to historians to determine" (de se déterminer). [192] Women voters in France were traditionally more attracted to mainstream conservative parties than the radical right until the 2000s. [74][78] The events in Dreux were a monumental factor for the rise of the FN. [181], The party's economic policy shifted from the 1980s to the 1990s from neoliberalism to protectionism. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. Since 2010, the party's support seems to have increased towards its former heights. [194], From the 1980s to the 1990s, the party's policy shifted from favouring the European Union to turning against it.