The Washington Post, in a report on the results of the French presidential election, indicated that Emmanuel Macron’s victory for a second term will not change the fact that his opponent, Marine Le Pen, has become part of the so-called mainstream in French politics, and “we should all be afraid.”
She pointed out that Macron should not be proud of his defeat of the far-right candidate, who, since her candidacy for the presidency in 2012, has achieved such an important impact that the far right has become an undeniable force in French politics. Instead of Macron and his supporters celebrating Le Pen’s defeat, they should scrutinize the way her hateful stance has become part of official French policy. And you should not be surprised that Le Pen managed in this campaign to increase her image and build a new position that whitens her dangerous agenda. Over the past years, posters have shifted from associating her with her chronically racist father, Jean-Marie Le Pen and the former leader of the National Front, to focusing on her first name, Marine, and portraying her with an innocent and smiling face.
During the presidential campaign, she used her Instagram account to show her love for cats, took part in occasions where she sang old songs, and presented herself as an ordinary person who did not subscribe to the elite lifestyle. She described herself as a single mother “like a number of the French”, and even described former Miss France Delphine Le Pen de Le Pen as “the mother of the French”. At the same time, several French media organizations discussed whether Le Pen was from the extreme right. The shocking question is that many French people no longer view it as a threat.
Indeed, Le Pen has won the “de-demonization” game. But she has undoubtedly not changed her positions. As the leader of the National Rally, a party created by Nazi and fascist collaborators, she won the support of the most racist and violent groups on the far right fringe, including fascists and anti-Nazis. Her previous statements also clearly show that she came from the most extreme side of the political scene. As a Member of Parliament, last year she introduced a “Citizenship, Identity and Immigration” bill proposing a referendum to give priority to French citizens over immigrants (no matter how far they live in France), including in the areas of housing, social services and jobs. The legislation means stripping the French of citizenship by birth (a fundamental principle of French citizenship), as well as facilitating deportations and stopping family reunification, in a way that violates international law that provides protection for family life. French dual nationals will also be denied access to public jobs and services.
Such policies are considered a violation of the principles of the French Revolution in 1789, which emphasized equality and rights in the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizenship”, which is today part of the preamble to the French Constitution. Le Pen planned to partially remove France from the European Charter of Human Rights. Le Pen is not a feminist, and the woman is not mentioned in any of the 22 Key Principles of her platform, with the exception of a general line regarding men and women. Its program does not contain plans to stop violence once morest women or strengthen gender equality in the workplace. She spoke lightly of what she called a “comfortable” abortion, implying that reproductive justice was a luxury. She also described the veil of Muslim women as an expression of “an ideology as dangerous as Nazism.” Her party’s platform also pushes toward a police state, whereby police officers are given the right to “supposed self-defense” if they commit a violent act. They can file a complaint once morest any citizen they accuse of attacking them, without revealing their identity, which makes defending the accused impossible.
Unfortunately, Macron was late in describing the National Assembly as “racist”, and he only acted following opinion polls suggested increasing his threat. The denunciation may have been useful last year when his interior minister, Gerard Dermanin, accused Le Pen of being “too tolerant” of Islam. In fact, Macron’s government contributed to neutralizing Le Pen and making her part of the mainstream by putting all efforts and energy into fighting the “Wake-Up” movements and the Islamist-left alliance instead of tackling the rise of the extreme right. His tough rhetoric on immigration, Islam and security policies helped Le Pen look moderate in comparison.
Human rights organizations expressed concern regarding the laws enacted during the past five years that threaten freedom, the government’s suppression of social movements that left thousands injured among protesters, and the unprecedented persecution of Muslims, which culminated in the closure of 718 Islamic institutions. Anti-Islam statements made by officials in his government as well as the president who said the headscarf makes people “unsafe” and “not commensurate with the civilization that expresses our country” are now part of the French political scene.
She stated that winning the elections following stirring up public opinion and feeding it with hate speech and changing laws that restricted civil liberties is not a victory. The far right has succeeded in normalizing its ideology, which worries everyone.
