Marine Le Pen’s National Rally has done well in the first round of local elections. But the second round is its Achilles heel, as rivals can team up against it.
The far-right National Rally had reason to hope this month’s French municipal elections would show it now has an unstoppable momentum before the presidential race in 2027.
After all, the party has been on a steady upward trajectory during this election cycle, with polls showing Jordan Bardella, the party’s president, as the frontrunner ahead of next year’s campaign.
But while its candidates did very well in Sunday’s first round, particularly in important southern cities such as Marseille and Toulon, it looks like Marine Le Pen’s troops are still falling short of the decisive breakthrough they seek.
It’s always the soldiers isn’t it. Police and soldiers. I wonder if it’s more that a fascist type of person is just naturally attracted to such jobs, or if it’s more a part of the enculturation those institutions condition people with that breeds fascism.
I’m pretty positive that fascist will be attracted to the military, which won’t care much as long as they get expendable humans.
For police, I get fasch would like the position, but clearly racism / authoritarianism should be basic disqualification.
The unspoken “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it comes to those things makes that hard to screen for.