Will Le Pen rise again? The French leader is defiant after the court’s decision
France woke up to a red-eye on Wednesday, with many still reeling from the political upheaval caused by nationalist Marine Le Pen the night before.
Within hours of an appeals court in Paris upholding his conviction for misusing public funds, he not only announced that he will run for next year’s French presidential election, but had already started his campaign on social media.
Pour la France – For France – reads her online poster, which shows the country’s tricolor flag and a smiling Le Pen, with her arms outstretched.
“Like (actress) Kate Winslet boarding the Titanic,” muttered the French journalist I was interviewing. “France feels like the Titanic right now – it’s sinking – at least politically!”
But Le Pen’s campaign promises something different. “La Renaissance” is its subtitle – rebirth.
Le Pen has always said that she is a woman who listens, a woman of the people. Many in France (as in many European countries) feel disillusioned with traditional politics and politicians. They look at the gaping inequalities in society and yearn for change.
Le Pen happily swims in these different waters. He often hears his speech “The People” against the “Metropolitan Elite” or “The Patriots” – he says, he represents – fighting for France putting the French people first, against those he calls “Globalists”, including his political enemies, the current French President Emmanuel Macron.
The name of his political party is Renaissance, by the way. The fact that the name appears so prominently in Le Pen’s new online campaign cannot be accidental. It is a challenge for a man who, when he was first elected president nearly ten years ago, promised to ensure that no French citizen would ever again feel the need to vote for what he called political extremism.
He made it clear that he included Le Pen’s National Rally Party in the extremist camp. It is surprising that the final round of the French presidential election next year could combine Le Pen with Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the French left.
Le Pen lost twice to Macron in the last presidential election. He is barred by law in France from running for a third term, while he has never looked so strong in public opinion polls.
Rebirth is a fitting concept when it comes to Le Pen because she has been removed as a politician many times (such as after her car crash televised debate against Macron before the 2017 presidential election) only to return with great power.
Her outstretched arms in the social media campaign poster should probably make us think of a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Many in France believed that the appeals court would not only uphold Le Pen’s conviction for fraud on Tuesday but also the first five-year ban on her from running in public elections. Many predicted the end of his political career.
In fact, due to the intense political scrutiny of the case, the appeals court shortened the ban, leaving the decision to Le Pen. It allowed him to campaign for president if he chose, while insisting he wear an electronic tag year-round.
