Marine Le Pen has ruled out any electoral alliance between the National Front and Bloc Identitaire (BI), a far-right movement she describes as composed of “Europeanists,” “regionalists,” who “contest the fundamental role of the Nation.”
On the occasion of the celebration of their movement’s ten-year anniversary in Orange (Vaucluse), leaders of Bloc Identitaire announced their intention to be present at the 2014 municipal elections, particularly “through collaborations” with the NF within the Rassemblement Bleu Marine.
Philippe Vardon, who leads the Nissa Rebella movement in Nice, associated with BI, had already supported Marine Le Pen during the 2012 presidential campaign. However, he did not receive, as he hoped, the NF candidacy for the legislative elections.
According to Marine Le Pen, the Bloc “is an activists’ party; they themselves say that they are not a political party.” When shown on BFMTV a clip from Génération Identitaire — the youth movement associated with the Bloc — proclaiming “a declaration of war” against living together and multiethnic France, the NF leader stated that while she understands the expression of such concerns, which condemn the generations that imposed multiculturalism on them, she does not believe they are people who desire violence. “And in any case, if they desired it, they would find me on their way to prevent them,” she affirmed.
We asked Gaël Nofri, spokesperson for the Bleu Marine/NF gathering, to share his opinion on this issue.
Your opinion on an alliance with the Identitaires?
I will first remind you that my position was clear at the time of the legislative elections. This position, consistent with that expressed by Jean-Marie Le Pen in his time, the NF, the RBM, and Marine Le Pen as recently as last night, tends to consider that the fact this group denounces immigrationism just like the national right movement does not make it an ally.
The Identitaires are regionalists and Eurofederalists; an alliance on a Government program with them would be unnatural for a formation with a national doctrine, a patriotic program, and sovereignist proposals.
Political life cannot be summed up by agreements between divergent formations; agreements without coherence beyond electoral logic would ultimately betray the voters. We would then be no different from the UMP or the PS. I assert that voters are entitled to expect something else from us!
Beyond that, local elections are based on local realities, specific issues, a broad gathering of competent and willing men and women. I do not conceive that an alliance between political formations fits within the logic of such an election!
