Le Pen solidarity rally: what's the impact?
After the conviction of French right-wing populist Marine Le Pen last week, several thousand supporters of her Rassemblement National (RN) party staged a solidarity rally in Paris on Sunday. Speaking at the rally, Le Pen described the judgement as a "political decision" that made a mockery of the democratic state. European commentators discuss the implications.
A flop
Stefano Montefiori, Paris correspondent for Corriere della Sera, says it was only the hard core of the RN that demonstrated:
“On the right the golden dome [of the Invalides], on the left the Eiffel Tower, in the middle a sea of tricolour flags held by the party supporters, whom Jordan Bardella addressed, shouting with somewhat incongruous emphasis: 'They wanted to smother a voice but they have awakened the French people!' ... Apart from the fact that the Rassemblement National had hoped for a crowd of at least 20,000 - according to independent estimates, it was more like 6,000 - Place Vauban was clearly half empty. So it's a bit of a stretch to speak of 'the people of France'. ... Only loyalists were present, not the imposing crowd that would have made the rally look like it was 'a defence of democracy'.”
Will this reverse the "de-demonisation"?
The Tages-Anzeiger sees signs of a relapse into old patterns:
“Since her conviction for embezzlement of more than four million euros in European funds, Le Pen has received outpourings of love from reactionary hearts the world over. ... Yet in recent years, Le Pen has been doing everything in her power to normalise her party, to 'de-demonise' it, as she calls it, against her natural instincts. ... She has won mainstream support from people who once voted centre-right or even left. But she may lose these people very quickly if she falls back into the old radical language, the demonic talk. And if she allows herself to be cushioned by the swarm of conspiracy theorists from around the globe. It is toxic.”
This doesn't bode well for 2027 elections
La Croix voices concern that Le Pen is continuing to present herself as a presidential candidate:
“This way of denying the effects of an unfavourable ruling, or at least of putting pressure on the justice system in the hope of obtaining a different decision on appeal, is not without risk. Because what the RN leaders are effectively doing is eroding confidence in our institutions. ... In the context of peak global instability, our own already fragile institutions, and the high level of mistrust in our political leaders, we should be all the more vigilant when it comes to our own democratic regulations. If the 2027 presidential campaign started yesterday, it got off to a very bad start.”