In anticipation of the National Front’s “refoundation” congress on March 10-11 in Lille, it will indeed be a true refoundation since the Le Penist party will even change its name. “Ambassadors” have been appointed to engage with the base (members and activists) to listen to their feelings and gather proposals. Additionally, a questionnaire has been sent out to them.
In fact, the dual defeat in the 2017 presidential and legislative elections highlighted the need to review a strategy that failed at the crucial moment, namely, the final step to power conquest (even though MLP achieved the best score in the party’s history with over 11 million votes in the first round of the presidential election).
The departure (more or less encouraged) of the party’s second-in-command Philippot (who had imposed a divisive anti-European stance) and the rising star Marion Le Pen, who tended to act independently, has clarified the internal balance around Marine Le Pen and her tight-knit group of loyalists.
The next step will be to (re)define the means to win the battle of ideas and open the party to civil society around traditional ideas and values, and France’s independence within a Europe of Nations.
In the PACA region, a stronghold of the far-right (which claims between 10 and 15 members), regional councilor Franck Allisio was responsible for this tour that led him to participate in 17 local meetings.
This weekend, he was in Nice and Antibes (the department has 3,500 members according to its secretary Lionel Tivoli).
A chance to learn a bit more about what’s happening among the National Front supporters…
“My visits aim to verify our presence on the ground to increase the network we need and to detect new talents for upcoming electoral challenges (European elections in 2019, municipal elections in 2020). We have never had as many national and local elected officials, hence bolstering our ranks becomes an essential condition for success,” said the “ambassador,” who is pleased that the region is in the Top 5 in terms of registered members.
Regarding national politics, his analysis is straightforward: “The election of Macron clarified the situation: traditional left has imploded, the President of the Republic gathers around him both Macron supporters directly and, indirectly, Macron-compatible individuals among whom many are from ‘Republicans’, those who vote for laws proposed by the Government. Then there is a right-wing pole: Wauquiez tries to attract our voters, but he is not credible because, when he was in government, he did the same things as Macron does today. It is rather his electorate that may recognize our ideas and proposals.”
