Marine Le Pen vows French ‘renaissance’ as far right eyes seat of power

National Rally’s Le Pen launches presidential campaign against the backdrop of mass protests and social and economic discontent.

Far-right party National Rally (RN) candidate in France's 2027 presidential election Marine Le Pen, flanked by RN President Jordan Bardella, right, and far-right ally party Union des droites pour la Republique (UDR) leader Eric Ciotti, left, at a campaign kickoff rally in Orleans, central France, on October 25, 2026 [AFP]

Orleans, France – Marine Le Pen took to the stage with a clear message: She would lead France’s “renaissance” as the country sank into crisis – and she would do so soon.

The far-right figure’s words were met with cheers from thousands of supporters gathered in Orleans in central France on Sunday, as she launched her presidential campaign against a backdrop of mass demonstrations and widespread social and economic discontent.

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“Marine présidente!” the crowd chanted, waving French flags beneath a sea of red and blue lights. Organisers said 8,500 supporters had gathered in a venue transformed into a fort for the event.

Standing tall on stage in a pink blazer, her hair impeccably coiffed, Le Pen spoke with the confidence of a leader who believes the presidency is within reach.

Riding high in the polls, with candidates from the right, left and centre trailing behind her, she presented the election as a historic opportunity to restore France’s past glory.

“This is a story to be written, a destiny to be fulfilled,” she told the crowd, which erupted in cheers.

Her pitch was a promise to restore authority and security in a country she portrayed as having lost control.

“We are going to re-establish the rule of law,” she said, drawing loud applause from supporters wearing “Marine présidente” T-shirts.

Manon Funeau, 21, a business school student, was among the supporters.

“What they propose are values that resonate with me, that vibrate within me,” she said. “Honestly, I feel at home here.”

Le Pen’s speech comes as the country is at a crossroads. France has been shaken by a wave of protests since mid-September, a movement sparked by high school students in a Paris suburb that grew into a nationwide mobilisation tapping into widespread discontent.

Over the past two weekends, largely peaceful protests have been accompanied by episodes of violence on a scale rarely seen in recent years.

On October 17 , shops were looted and ransacked, and more than 2,000 people were arrested as hundreds of thousands took to the streets of French cities. A similar dynamic unfolded the following weekend , though on a smaller scale. The protests show little sign of abating, with calls for further demonstrations already circulating.

The unrest has given Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) an opportunity to play one of its favourite cards: presenting itself as the guarantor of law and order. It has fuelled criticism of President Emmanuel Macron over his handling of public security, allowing Le Pen to accuse him of incompetence and the far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon – a contender in the coming elections – of encouraging the violence.

‘My country is drifting off course’

“I believe that my country is currently drifting off course,” said Nadede, a 56-year-old who began voting for RN in 2024 over what she said was the country’s growing lack of security. She did not spell out any specific event.

“I think that the only person capable of setting it back on the right track is Marine Le Pen – especially since, up until now, everyone else who has run for office has struggled to do so,” she said.

Outside the convention hall, the scale of the security operation offered a glimpse of the tensions surrounding the event. Police checks began at departure stations in Paris and continued on arrival, while officers in full gear moved through train carriages during the journey.

Orleans itself had been brought to a near standstill. All businesses were shut and public transport suspended.

Standing almost alone in the city’s main square was the statue of Joan of Arc, surrounded only by fences. A day earlier, about 3,000 police officers had been deployed to prevent unrest as anti-RN protesters gathered against what they say is a xenophobic and racist party.

Orleans was no casual choice. For a party that has long sought to cast itself as the guardian of French identity and national sovereignty, the city is inseparable from the story of Joan of Arc, the 15th-century heroine who helped lift the English siege of Orléans in 1429 and became a symbol of France’s resistance and liberation.

For decades, the far right has claimed her as an emblem of national pride, invoking the image of a warrior who came to save France from foreign domination. Le Pen herself has drawn parallels between Joan’s mission and her political ambitions.

Eric Ciotti, Nice mayor and president of the Union des Droites (UDR) parliamentary group; French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, member of parliament from the French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally – RN) party and candidate for the 2027 French presidential election; and Jordan Bardella, president of the RN party, stand on stage during a rally to launch the presidential campaign, after the party’s Congress in Orleans, France, October 25, 2026 [Nicolas Economou/Reuters]

The crowd at the RN Congress offered a glimpse of how the party has expanded its appeal to a wider section of society: from young people from urban centres to middle-class workers who used to vote for the centrist party.

Only a few years ago, the party was still considered on the fringes of French politics. Its growth has been driven in part by a carefully crafted strategy known as dédiabolisation , or de-demonisation, developed over the past two decades to broaden the party’s base while tempering its rhetoric and distancing it from positions that had made it toxic to many voters.

The party has long been associated with racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was convicted of hate speech, including for describing Nazi gas chambers as “a detail of history”. He was expelled from the party in 2015.

Far right ‘gaining ground’

Marine Le Pen has sought to broaden RN’s appeal, combining restrictive immigration policies with promises of social protection. The party has gained ground in working-class areas traditionally associated with the left, including former Communist strongholds, by presenting itself as a defender of public services and the purchasing power of everyday people.

While RN has long abandoned some of its most radical proposals, including leaving the Eurozone and pursuing a fully fledged “Frexit”, the election of such a eurosceptic to the helm of the European Union’s second-largest economy would send shockwaves. She has pledged a referendum to challenge the primacy of EU law over migration policy, as well as an annual 11-billion-euro ($12.3bn) reduction in France’s contribution to the bloc.

The party’s membership has nearly tripled, with approximately 112,000 members now paying their dues, up from fewer than 37,000 in 2022.

“The party has been gaining ground at every level: mayors, deputies, senators. Usually, when a movement seems on the rise, people join,” said Baptiste Roger-Lacan, a historian and political analyst with a focus on far-right parties in Europe. “It also shows how it is less and less socially damaging to be a member of the RN.”

But the party’s programme “is still fraught with fiscal absurdity”, Roger-Lacan said. “They still want to implement racist laws, which are bound to provoke widespread anger, and their diplomatic agenda is still pro-Russian and anti-EU – even if they don’t advocate Frexit any more.”

Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s second-in-command and Le Pen protégé – an impeccably dressed 31-year-old who looks like a cross between the Wolf of Wall Street and Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent – also spoke at the event.

“No one should be intimidated by their political opinions,” he said, speaking ahead of his mentor.

Some observers say the October 17 protests and their aftermath have proved a gift to RN, allowing the party to not only reinforce its law-and-order message but also to shift attention away from recent difficulties.

In September, investigative outlet Mediapart published allegations that Bardella had expressed anti-Semitic views in private messages dating back to his teenage years. He denied the allegations and announced legal action against the journalists.

The episode posed a challenge for a party that has spent years trying to shed its xenophobic image and recast itself as a supporter of Israel.

Bardella has also reportedly differed with Le Pen over the party’s economic agenda and whether to make her proposed ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in public spaces a central campaign issue.

Yet, at the Congress, those tensions appeared to have been set aside, at least publicly.

“Marine president – a Bardella government” was the slogan, projecting unity as Le Pen launched her presidential bid and Bardella positioned himself as her prospective head of government.

在民众大规模抗议和社会经济不满的背景下，国民联盟的勒庞发起了总统竞选活动。

2026 年 10 月 25 日，法国中部城市奥尔良，极右翼政党国民联盟 (RN) 候选人玛丽娜·勒庞在竞选启动集会上，站在国民联盟主席乔丹·巴尔德拉（右）和极右翼盟友共和国权利联盟 (UDR) 领导人埃里克·西奥蒂（左）两侧。[法新社]

法国奥尔良——玛丽娜·勒庞登上讲台，传递了一个明确的信息：当法国陷入危机时，她将领导法国的“复兴”——而且她很快就会这样做。

周日，在法国中部城市奥尔良，这位极右翼人士发表了讲话，数千名支持者聚集于此，为她的总统竞选活动欢呼。当时正值大规模示威游行和普遍的社会经济不满情绪高涨之际。

法国极右翼政党国民联盟在参议院投票中取得进展（共3条结果，此为第1条）

法国抗议暴力事件清单之二（共三项）：这是送给勒庞极右翼的“圣诞礼物”吗？

法国发生致命“种族主义”袭击事件（共3起）：欧洲仇恨犯罪是否正在增加？

“海军上将！”人群高呼着，挥舞着法国国旗，周围是一片红蓝灯光。组织者称，有8500名支持者聚集在一个被改造成堡垒的场地参加此次活动。

勒庞身穿粉色西装外套，头发一丝不苟地梳理着，昂首挺胸地站在台上，她讲话时充满自信，仿佛总统之位近在咫尺。

她在民调中遥遥领先，左右两派候选人都落后于她。她将此次选举视为重振法国昔日辉煌的历史性机遇。

“这是一个需要书写的故事，一个需要实现的命运，”她对人群说道，人群爆发出欢呼声。

她的竞选纲领承诺恢复一个她所描述的已经失去控制的国家的权威和安全。

“我们将重建法治，”她说道，引来身穿“海军总统”T恤的支持者们的热烈掌声。

21岁的商学院学生马农·富诺也是支持者之一。

“他们所倡导的价值观与我产生了共鸣，深深触动了我的内心，”她说。“说实话，我感觉在这里就像在家一样。”

勒庞发表这番讲话之际，法国正处于十字路口。自9月中旬以来，法国一直被一波又一波的抗议活动所震撼。这场运动最初由巴黎郊区的高中生发起，随后发展成为一场席卷全国的动员，反映了民众普遍的不满情绪。

过去两个周末，虽然大部分抗议活动都是和平的，但期间也出现了近年来罕见的暴力事件。

10月17日，商店遭到洗劫和抢劫，超过2000人被捕，数十万人走上法国各大城市的街头。接下来的周末，类似的情况再次发生，但规模较小。抗议活动丝毫没有减弱的迹象，呼吁举行更多示威活动的呼声已经开始流传。

这场动乱给了勒庞领导的国民联盟（RN）一个机会，让他们得以打出自己最擅长的牌：把自己塑造成法律和秩序的捍卫者。这加剧了人们对总统马克龙处理公共安全问题的批评，勒庞借此指责他无能，并指责极左翼领导人让-吕克·梅朗雄（即将参加大选的候选人之一）煽动暴力。

“我的国家正在偏离航线”

“我认为我的国家目前正偏离正轨，”56岁的纳德德说道。她表示，由于国家安全形势日益恶化，她从2024年开始就投票支持全国共和党。她没有具体说明发生了什么事件。

“我认为唯一能够让乌克兰重回正轨的人是玛丽娜·勒庞——尤其是到目前为止，所有其他竞选公职的人都难以做到这一点，”她说。

会展中心外，庞大的安保行动让人得以窥见此次盛会所面临的紧张局势。警方从巴黎的出发车站开始进行检查，并在抵达后继续进行，全副武装的警员在列车行驶过程中穿梭于各个车厢。

奥尔良城几乎陷入停滞。所有商铺都关门歇业，公共交通也暂停运营。

在市中心广场上，圣女贞德的雕像几乎孤零零地矗立着，周围仅以栅栏围起。一天前，约3000名警察被部署到此，以防止骚乱。当时，反共和党示威者聚集在此，抗议他们所称的排外和种族主义政党。

选择奥尔良并非偶然。对于一个长期以来一直试图将自己塑造成法国身份和国家主权守护者的政党来说，这座城市与圣女贞德的故事密不可分。这位15世纪的女英雄在1429年帮助解除了英国对奥尔良的围困，并成为法国抵抗和解放的象征。

几十年来，极右翼一直将她奉为民族自豪的象征，描绘出一位拯救法国免遭外国统治的女战士形象。勒庞本人也曾将圣女贞德的使命与自己的政治抱负相提并论。

2026年10月25日，在法国奥尔良举行的国民联盟（RN）党代表大会之后，尼斯市长兼右翼联盟（UDR）议会党团主席埃里克·西奥蒂、法国极右翼领导人、国民联盟议员兼2027年法国总统候选人玛丽娜·勒庞以及国民联盟主席乔丹·巴尔德拉在启动总统竞选的集会上站在台上。[Nicolas Economou/路透社]

RN 大会上的人群展现了该党如何扩大其对更广泛社会群体的吸引力：从城市中心的年轻人到过去投票给中间派政党的中产阶级工人。

就在几年前，该党还被视为法国政坛的边缘力量。其发展壮大部分归功于一项精心策划的战略，即“去妖魔化”（dédiabolisation），这项战略在过去二十年中不断发展完善，旨在扩大该党的支持者基础，同时缓和其言辞，并使其与那些曾令许多选民反感的立场保持距离。

该党长期以来一直与种族主义、仇外心理和反犹太主义联系在一起。勒庞的父亲让-玛丽·勒庞曾因发表仇恨言论而被定罪，其中包括将纳粹毒气室描述为“历史细节”。他于2015年被开除出党。

极右翼势力“正在崛起”

玛丽娜·勒庞试图扩大国民联盟的吸引力，她将限制性移民政策与社会保障承诺相结合。该党通过将自身定位为公共服务和普通民众购买力的捍卫者，在传统上与左翼联系在一起的工人阶级地区，包括一些前共产党据点，获得了更多支持。

尽管国民联盟（RN）早已放弃了一些最激进的提议，包括退出欧元区和全面推行“法国脱欧”，但这样一位疑欧派人士当选欧盟第二大经济体的领导人，仍将引发轩然大波。她承诺将举行全民公投，挑战欧盟法律凌驾于移民政策之上的地位，并要求法国每年向欧盟缴纳110亿欧元（约合123亿美元）的会费。

该党成员人数几乎翻了三倍，目前约有 112,000 名成员缴纳会费，而 2022 年这一数字还不到 37,000 人。

“该党在各个层面都在发展壮大：市长、议员、参议员。通常情况下，当一个运动看起来正在兴起时，人们就会加入，”专注于欧洲极右翼政党的历史学家和政治分析家巴蒂斯特·罗杰-拉坎说道。“这也表明，加入国民联盟对社会造成的危害越来越小。”

但罗杰-拉康表示，该党的纲领“仍然充斥着财政上的荒谬之处”。“他们仍然想要推行种族主义法律，这势必会引发广泛的愤怒；而且他们的外交议程仍然是亲俄反欧盟的——即便他们不再主张法国脱欧。”

勒庞的二把手兼门生乔丹·巴德拉（Jordan Bardella）——一位衣着考究的31岁男子，看起来像是《华尔街之狼》中的人物和超人的另一个身份克拉克·肯特的结合体——也在活动上发表了讲话。

“任何人都不应该因为自己的政治观点而感到害怕，”他抢在导师之前说道。

一些观察人士表示，10 月 17 日的抗议活动及其后续影响对国民联盟来说是一份礼物，这不仅使该党能够强化其维护法律和秩序的信息，而且还能将人们的注意力从最近的困难中转移开来。

9月，调查媒体Mediapart发布消息称，巴尔德拉在其青少年时期就曾在私人信息中发表过反犹太主义言论。他否认了这些指控，并宣布将对相关记者提起诉讼。

这一事件给一个多年来一直试图摆脱仇外形象、将自己重新塑造成以色列支持者的政党带来了挑战。

据报道，巴尔德拉与勒庞在党的经济议程以及是否将她提出的禁止在公共场所佩戴伊斯兰头巾的提议作为竞选的核心议题上也存在分歧。

然而，在国会上，这些紧张局势似乎已被搁置，至少在公开场合是如此。

“海军总统——巴尔德拉政府”是当时的口号，旨在展现团结，因为勒庞发起了总统竞选，而巴尔德拉则把自己定位为她未来的政府首脑。