the National Rally list gives pride of place to controversial candidates

A large renewal, a few changes to regional elected officials, recruits from civil society and no political war: Jordan Bardella revealed, Thursday 1^er May, his list for the European elections on June 9, where polls predict an imposing delegation. Only seven outgoing MEPs from the National Rally (RN) seem guaranteed to return to the European Parliament, at the end of a particularly discreet mandate for the twenty-three elected in 2019. Among those renewed, Thierry Mariani, whose flattering 9^e place underlines the extent to which his political experience is worth absolution from his positions close to those of the Kremlin or the Azeri dictator Ilham Aliev.

Or another “observer” of a Vladimir Putin referendum in 2021 (“A historic event for Russians”she judged), Virginie Joron (16^e on the list). With it, the far right sends a strong nod to conspiracy and vaccine-skeptical circles, whose suspicions it assiduously relayed during its mandate, becoming a controversial figure in the European Parliament.

With possibly around thirty elected officials, Jordan Bardella had something to please everyone. Some will still be disappointed, like Jordan Bardella’s first protector at the RN, Jean-Lin Lacapelle (not on the list), those close to Marine Le Pen André Rougé and France Jamet, outgoing European deputies, respectively 31^e and 30^e list, or party spokesperson Andrea Kotarac (35^e). Conversely, little-known names in the party are almost certain to discover the European Parliament: they were chosen for their local presence, in the North, Saône-et-Loire, Gironde, Réunion or Guadeloupe .

The list also makes it possible to guarantee generous remuneration, net of taxes, to second-rank personalities of the party defeated in the legislative elections, or executives like Gilles Pennelle, general director of the RN with a very radical background, and Julien Sanchez, who should therefore leave the town hall of Beaucaire conquered in 2014, as he announced in a letter to his constituents.

External personalities owe, almost entirely, their presence to Marine Le Pen. Jordan Bardella’s mark on the list doesn’t show up dramatically. Among his few close friends, the young president of the RN guaranteed a good place for Mathilde Androuët, outgoing MP, but his advisor Pierre-Romain Thionnet, president of the party’s youth movement, only appears in 23rd position. Gaëtan Dussausaye, another of his collaborators, is in the middle, in 29th place.

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