At the Le Pen house, the doors never stay completely closed. Four years after leaving her aunt to support Éric Zemmour, Marion Maréchal returns home. On CNews, the MEP promised to participate in the campaign without claiming a title. Convenient to be in the photo without being in the campaign organization chart, but close enough for everyone to see where she puts their chair.
At the RN, we are obviously trying to trivialize the return of the prodigal niece. “For the moment, Ms. Maréchal has neither left nor returned,” explains RN deputy Sébastien Chenu to 20 Minutes. She would be an ally among others, with “her nuances, her support and her troops”. And above all, don't touch Jordan Bardella. “The ticket is known. Marine-Jordan”, insists Chenu and recalls that “Marion Maréchal is not even a member of the RN”. Deputy Edwige Diaz finally assures that she does not think that Bardella “fears anything”. Officially, the family is doing well. Under the coat, it's a different story.
Less cousin atmosphere behind the scenes
Because the press reports a less zen return to school. According to Libération, Jordan Bardella would have launched “It’s her or me” during a meeting at the end of August, while Marine Le Pen was considering putting her niece back in the spotlight. Bardella denied any quarrel and assured to support the candidate “2,000%”. Le Monde also describes a tense atmosphere: the mere mention of Marion Maréchal during an executive office would have been enough to cause big black clouds to pass over the meeting, with everyone looking at their feet while it passed. The staging of his return, planned for September, has also been postponed. A sailor summed up in the evening daily: “We are very far from the great return. »
Its electoral interest is indisputable. Marion Maréchal takes a divisive but remunerative political line on the margins. “She talks to some people who are more liberal and more conservative than us,” Chenu admits. The objective: to expand around Marine Le Pen in the perspective of the 2nd round without modifying its program. “When you want to govern, you have to have 50% of the votes plus one,” summarizes Edwige Diaz. The distribution of roles would therefore be simple: Bardella keeps the party, Maréchal his sensitivity, Marine Le Pen the remote control.
And then there is abortion
However, the mechanics seized up in Strasbourg. On September 15, Marion Maréchal attended the inauguration of an exhibition organized with Pro Vita & Famiglia, an Italian association committed against abortion. Asked about his presence, Jordan Bardella said: “Does that surprise you? I don't. » Not exactly the little sentence of a welcoming committee well disposed towards him. Chenu accepts the difference: Marion Maréchal is “more conservative, socially”. But sets the boundary: “She has no influence and no weight on the candidate’s political line. » Translation: voters, yes. The program, no.
Reconquest says to wash its hands
At Reconquête, which Marion Maréchal left after the 2024 European elections, we observe this reversal with less tenderness. Eric Zemmour’s party says it does not want to “comment on the transfers of players in the casting of Marine Le Pen”. Without depriving herself, in turn, of a well-felt tackle to settle a failed transplant: “If Marion Maréchal brings to the RN as much as she brought to Reconquête, then we have nothing to fear. »
The RN will continue to present Marine le Pen's niece as an external ally for as long as history holds. Chenu even uses the sporting metaphor to find a place for it: “There is a team playing, and in the fan zone, there are supporters. » Marion Maréchal returned to the stadium. It remains to be seen how long she will be content with a folding seat in the stands.
