What Does It Mean for the Far-Right to Win in France?

In the wake of the first round of early parliamentary elections in France, preliminary results indicate a significant lead for the far-right National Rally party.

This outcome may compel centrist and left-wing parties to collaborate in the upcoming second round.

Both center-right and left-wing parties have signaled their willingness to join forces against the far-right surge. 

The stakes are high as the National Rally secured approximately 34% of the vote in the initial round held last week.

Nationalist French

How did we get here? Millions of French people have been asking this question since the far-right National Rally won 31% of the popular vote in the European elections earlier this month, far ahead of rival lists in the country, including the president’s own party.

President Emmanuel Macron quickly called for early elections, scheduled for June 30 to July 7 – with the National Rally the frontrunner. For the first time under the Fifth Republic, the far right could govern the country. But is this really a surprise?

Since that famous evening in April 2002, when Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Rally, reached the second round of the presidential election for the first time, the once-marginal far right has gained new ground.

Today, the National Rally is a party like any other. Far-right ideas have become permanently entrenched in public debate, and it is now commonplace to talk about an “immigration crisis” or “national preference,” and questions that used to cause scandal are now commonplace: “Do you support wearing the headscarf in public? Do you think there are too many immigrants in the country?”

It has been more than half a century since the National Rally, formerly known as the National Front, put “national preference” (also known as “national priority”) at the heart of its program.

One of its posters in the 1970s read : “A million unemployed is a million immigrants too many! France and the French first.” Islamophobia and identity politics.

Since its creation in 1972, the National Rally has prided itself on being the “sole defender of the French,” accusing its opponents of belonging to the “globalist ” elite and encouraging mass immigration, impoverishment, and insecurity.

The party's core ideas have increasingly made their way into the mainstream, particularly since the 2002 presidential election, when Jacques Chirac, who eventually won with a large majority, focused his campaign on "insecurity."

In the global context since 9/11, Islamophobia has become a powerful governmental and electoral tool.

Identity Politics

Identity politics is now a staple of the 24-hour news cycle, with this discourse amplified on social media. Voters’ constant exposure to racist themes, such as the construction of the “migrant problem,” has made the far right a force to be reckoned with in French politics.

But racism predates the creation of the National Rally, and what has changed in recent years is its politicization and formulation within a specific worldview.

Sociologist Felicien Faury has pointed out the importance of racist motives in voting for the far right, but it is a multifaceted racism linked to different social problems, which cannot be reduced to issues of unemployment, the economic crisis, and deindustrialization.

Indeed, the National Rally’s voters respond to a “passion for inequality,” in which rich and poor alike find “a multitude of servile people over whom they must maintain at all costs their superiority,” as the French philosopher Jacques Rancière described it, and the National Rally taps into the culture of hatred at the heart of the neoliberal logic of inequality.

Nasr Sayed, a political researcher, said that conservative intellectuals grappled with what they termed a “crisis of governance,” a threat they believed imperiled the very survival of the capitalist model.

In response, they orchestrated a successful counter-movement to safeguard capitalism and reassert state authority, according to Sayed.

“Central to this endeavor is the defense of ‘values,’ a strategic maneuver that sidesteps probing questions about major economic trends,” Sayed said to Al-Estiklal. “Within this context, racism assumes a pivotal role, positioning the far right—steadfast in its commitment to neoliberal doctrines—at the heart of the political discourse.”

The National Rally, emboldened by its electoral victory on June 30, openly pursues discriminatory policies.

From advocating “national preference” to enacting legislation against “Islamism” and excluding dual nationals from certain positions, the party leverages the legacy of previous administrations’ racist and security-focused measures.

“The tools for repression—from banning public gatherings to targeting Islamic religious symbols—are readily available,” Sayed noted.

Leftist Unity

Yet, the alarm raised by defenders of rights and freedoms in France often falls on deaf ears.

“Calls to boycott the far-right faction yield little impact, inadvertently bolstering abstentions and disproportionately affecting left-wing forces,” Sayed added.

Meanwhile, the National Rally unabashedly flaunts its racist agenda. Paradoxically, anti-racist sentiments have been weaponized against the left-wing France Insoumise party, accusing it of anti-Semitism while championing the Palestinian cause.

This calculated exploitation stifles meaningful discussions about racism, rendering them nearly impossible.

In a statement, Macron emphasized the significance of the high voter turnout during the first round of elections, highlighting its importance for all citizens and the need to clarify the political landscape.

As the far-right National Rally gains momentum, Macron called for a broad coalition in the second round—one that is unequivocally democratic and republican.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the radical left-wing La France Insoumise party, characterized the outcome as an undeniable blow to Macron.

“Our principles dictate that we prevent the National Rally from prevailing anywhere,” Mélenchon asserted.

Accordingly, his party will strategically withdraw candidates in districts where the National Rally secured first place and the Left Alliance came in third.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s departure remains the sole certainty this evening. Mélenchon stressed the urgency of granting an absolute majority to the New Popular Front, the left-wing coalition, as the only viable alternative.

Former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, representing the Horizons party within Macron’s coalition, echoed the call for cooperation.

Philippe pledged to unite against extremist factions in the second round, specifically targeting the far-right National Rally and the hard-left France Insoumise party.