The image could have been beautiful, like Celine Dion's reunion with her audience. Marine Le Pen, among her family, strolling through the aisles of the Hénin-Beaumont flea market (Pas-de-Calais), Sunday September 13, after a year and a half of political uncertainty and legal uncertainty. The National Rally (RN) candidate could have taken a series of selfies, just to show that the boss is back, ready to get back on stage for a fourth presidential campaign.
But the weather disrupted the planned plan. A light but persistent rain was expected to fall on the north of the country, the candidate's team preferred to cancel this walk. The meeting planned for the afternoon is maintained, but it takes place in a covered room and not in the open air as had been planned. Nearly 2,000 people flock to listen to their diva. “Marine Le Pen and Céline Dion have in common that they are two extraordinary women. But I prefer Marine to Céline,” jokes an RN activist. "Marine is not sick, but our slogan 'La Renaissance' applies well to Céline Dion", supports Julien Sanchez, director of the presidential campaign.
“We must campaign as if we were at 14%”
Marine Le Pen's political comeback is therefore taking place in a more sober form than announced. But the vagaries of the weather give substance to the feeling of a number of observers: does the RN candidate really need to campaign when opinion polls place her well ahead of the first round? “For me, it’s certain, she will win the election,” enthuses a resident of Hénin-Beaumont. “Be careful, be careful, moderate your wife. She has already missed out several times.” “She’s off to a good start anyway. That’s what I feel from the discussions with my friends,” comments another activist a little further on.
At the RN, we are aware of the danger of resting on already promised laurels. "We have to campaign as if we were at 14%. We are never sure of winning, says Julien Sanchez. Marine [Le Pen] and Jordan [Bardella] repeated it yesterday during the parliamentary days in Le Touquet." Should we carry out a first round campaign and speak above all to our electoral core or already address more moderate voters likely to join Marine Le Pen in the second round? "We must do both because we must not be presumptuous in thinking that qualification is a given. But our challenge is still to obtain a rally above 50% for the second round. And this is also being prepared now", judges a deputy from the group.
Marine Le Pen wishes Jordan Bardella her birthday
Among Marine Le Pen's opponents, jealousy is on the rise. “She walks on water,” said this week, a bit disillusioned, an elected official from the central bloc told franceinfo, summarizing the feeling of the political class. It is true that the favorite in the polls seems to be flying through this new school year despite the numerous screw-ups within her party: departure of special advisor François Durvye, holding a liberal economic line against a backdrop of tension between Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen; divergence also on the ban on the wearing of the veil in public spaces or the Ukrainian question and finally the return to favor of Marion Maréchal who brings to the fore the traditional criticisms of "family SMEs" against the RN and which worries Jordan Bardella.
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In Hénin-Beaumont, Marine Le Pen insisted on displaying unity, at least on the surface, with her second in command. She did not fail to remind that it was her birthday, encouraging the audience to sing “Happy Birthday” in honor of Jordan Bardella. But she did not give him the gift of a speech from the platform.
The activists met at the sale or in the meeting welcomed “this reconciliation”. “I like both,” proclaims a resident of Calais. “She is very well supported with Jordan,” continues another activist who accuses “the press and especially the adversaries of highlighting the small differences between the candidates.”
An entry into the housing campaign
In a speech lasting around forty minutes that the president of the RN was content to listen to quietly, Marine Le Pen chose to make her return to school on the theme of housing, a subject which is not immediately associated with her. “It is at the heart of your concerns, it will therefore be at the heart of my presidential project,” she asserts in the preamble. And to propose to “liberate construction, enhance the existing stock and encourage ownership”. It thus recommends, pell-mell, making land available to developers, applying "national priority" in the allocation of social housing, the elimination of ZANs or forcing banks to make it easier to obtain credit. She also mentions more repressive measures, such as an anti-squatting law or the expulsion of families of delinquents from social housing. “She didn’t talk about immigration,” regrets, disappointed, an activist as he leaves, while others are pleased that she addressed a concrete subject.
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“She is seeking to stand out from the other candidates who for the moment are not talking about this essential subject. She is where we do not expect her, as was the case for purchasing power in 2022,” RN MEP Mathilde Androuët explains to franceinfo. This meeting is above all an opportunity for Marine Le Pen to rediscover the accents of the 2022 campaign and to assert her social fiber. “We must lead the social battle,” she insists. “There cannot be a two-speed France. It is a condition for unity.”
Marine Le Pen promises that purchasing power will be discussed throughout her presidential quest, and in particular the cost of energy. “This is the major concern of the French this fall. Purchasing power will be at the heart of the campaign, even more strongly than in 2022,” promises Ludovic Pajot, RN mayor of Bruay-la-Buissière Marine Le Pen has learned the lesson of Céline Dion: it is by resuming your standards that you retain the affection of your audience.
