After being beaten into third place in the French legislative elections with about 143 of the 577 available seats, senior figures in the National Rally met at their Paris headquarters on Monday afternoon to regroup.
Despondent, but determined to put a positive spin on events, Jordan Bardella – who 24 hours earlier was primed to be France’s next prime minister – told reporters on arrival that his party was now the “strongest force” in parliament in terms of percentage share of the vote, but said he took responsibility for the “mistakes made” during the campaign.
“These were not the results I was hoping for,” he conceded. “In victory and defeat you have to analyse what worked and what didn’t work. I accept my share of responsibility, both in our victory at the European elections and in yesterday’s defeat.”
In unusually remorseful remarks for the leader of a party that has never been quick to acknowledge its failings, Bardella made reference to racist comments posted online by several candidates during the campaign.
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“I say it clearly, in some constituencies the choices we made were not the correct ones. But 99 per cent of our candidates were absolutely impeccable, and many made significant progress. We distanced ourselves from some candidates at the start of the campaign because their views did not reflect my political vision.”
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The 28-year-old described the results as a “victory postponed”, echoing remarks made by the party’s figurehead Marine Le Pen during a televised interview on Sunday. Bardella said the party now had its sights firmly set on the 2027 presidential election, but said he expected voters to return to the polls before then.
“This alliance of dishonour between [prime minister] Gabriel Attal, Emmanuel Macron and the far left is simply not viable. Time is on our side, and we will continue to work to convince the French people, to perhaps clarify that which has not been sufficiently clarified. With each passing day we move closer to power.”
Supporters of the National Rally are also keen to turn the page. As they gathered at a venue outside Paris to watch the results, many said they were proud of the progress made by the party, which saw only eight of its incumbents lose their seats, and were weary of having to defend its policies.
“We are not racist,” said 21-year-old Ulysse-Antoine Heller, when questioned about the party’s anti-immigrant platform. “We are patriots. If people actually listened to the speeches of our leaders, they would understand that the National Rally is not xenophobic.” He was speaking just minutes after Bardella had taken to the podium to address the nation, repeating his mantra that France was being “submerged” by “waves of foreigners”.
“It’s crazy that we always have to defend ourselves,” said 20-year-old Nathan Bertan. “It’s not racist to say that we will not accept everyone who wants to come to France. We have a heart, we’re human. We see that some immigrants are in a desperate situation, but we don’t have the financial means to accommodate them.”
Later, drowning their sorrows over tumblers of warm champagne as Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly played quietly on the venue’s sound system, all were scathing of the left-wing alliance that succeeded in splitting the vote and keeping the National Rally from power. “The left have sold out by forming a shameful coalition with Macron’s liberal centrists,” said 21-year Leonard Thomazo, from Brittany. “They will destroy the country. They are ‘popular’ in name only.”
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