BIG SHIFT
In this near-tectonic shift, the RN is methodically completing its strategy of “de-demonization,” undertaken more than a decade ago to break with its controversial legacy. Its president, Jordan Bardella, presents himself as the counter-model to the insurgent tribune of the left. He casts himself as the guarantor of public order, institutions, and republican values, going so far as to promise that, if he came to power, he would dissolve all violent fringe groups from both extremes — whether from the radical right or the antifascist left. For an English-speaking audience, it is important to understand that this posture seeks to reposition the RN not as a protest force, but as a party of government capable of embodying stability.
Yet this polished image depends on selective memory. It invites observers to forget past ideological or strategic proximities with activists from Génération identitaire, an identitarian movement known for its high-profile operations against migrants in the French Alps. It also requires overlooking the RN’s protests when the group was dissolved in 2021 by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin — a decision the RN denounced at the time in the name of free speech. More recently, Jordan Bardella claimed not to know the collective “Les Natifs,” presented as the successor to Génération identitaire, even though the group organized a tribute to Quentin Deranque at the Sorbonne in the presence of several RN elected officials. This episode illustrates the ongoing tension between normalization strategy and militant heritage.
PARADOXICAL RESULT
In a symmetrical move, the RN is now attempting to turn the mechanism of the “republican front” to its own advantage — the informal coalition by which traditional parties unite in the second round of elections to block the RN. As recently as 2024, this front once again barred it from power. The current ambition is to redirect this reflex toward LFI and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The Lyon tragedy, the outspoken support of the LFI leader for his antifascist movement known as “La Jeune Garde,” and his refusal to clearly distance himself from certain controversial activists are all elements the RN exploits to fuel a “anyone but LFI” dynamic. For readers unfamiliar with French politics, the term “anti-system” here refers to forces that openly challenge existing institutions, yet stem from opposing ideological traditions — nationalist in the case of the RN, radical left in the case of LFI.
The result is paradoxical: while the left appears more fragmented than ever, divided between Mélenchon’s supporters and social democrats, the right — including its most conservative wing — projects the image of a more cohesive bloc. This is illustrated when Bruno Retailleau, a leading figure of the traditional right, adopts the idea of a referendum on immigration — a flagship RN proposal — in order to counter what he describes as excesses of the rule of law. This thematic convergence reflects a broader shift in the ideological center of gravity toward more security-focused and identity-driven positions.
That said, the RN does not necessarily seek to annihilate LFI. On the contrary, the existence of a radical adversary is politically useful. Fear of Mélenchon becomes a powerful electoral argument: “You fear his rise to power? We are your safeguard.” For his part, Jean-Luc Mélenchon has repeated for more than a decade that the political outcome will ultimately be decided between his camp and the RN, as if the final confrontation were inevitable. The two poles feed off one another, each thriving on the anxiety inspired by the other. This dynamic of polarization, observable in several Western democracies, tends to marginalize moderate forces and transform political competition into an existential duel.
Thus emerges a landscape in which trenches deepen on the left while the right consolidates a discourse structured around order, security, and identity. And at the center of this vise, other contenders appear reduced to supporting roles, trapped in a confrontation whose jaws have, once again, tightened.
*Author is a former member of the UN senior staff