France’s far right sends shockwaves after electoral breakthrough

French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) leader Marine Le Pen speaks to journalists after delivering a speech after the first results of the parliamentary elections in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, on June 19, 2022.DENIS CHARLET/AFP/Getty Images.

France’s far right scored a historic success in legislative elections on Sunday, increasing its number of lawmakers almost tenfold and cementing the party’s rise from fringe status to the mainstream opposition.

Since taking the helm of the party in 2011, leader Marine Le Pen has sought to rid the National Front – now called the National Rally (RN) – of the anti-Semitic image it acquired under the nearly 40-year leadership of her father, ex-paratrooper Jean-Marie Le Pen.