France’s far-right Rassemblement party, which is currently leading opinion polls in France ahead of the EU elections, has unveiled the first 35 names on its list of candidates for the June vote, including outgoing MEPs, historic leaders, several youn g people, and supporters of Marine Le Pen.

“I wanted this team to reflect what we have become today: a competent force for government,” said Rassemblement National list leader Jordan Bardella from Perpignan, a stronghold of the party since 2020.

Bardella is counting on two types of running mate for the European elections: players from civil society and outgoing MEPs. The list features the retention of 10 of the 23 outgoing MEPs – only eight of whom are actually in eligible positions, including Le Pen’s close associates Philippe Olivier (11th position) and Catherine Griset (14th position).

The list also includes Virginie Joron (16th position) and Thierry Mariani (9th position), both of whom have come under fire for their anti-vaccination and pro-Russian views respectively.

The party’s president in the European Parliament, MEP Jean-Paul Garraud, and the president of the ID Foundation, Mathilde Androuet, are also on the list, in very high positions, fifth and fourth, respectively.

“The list is truly the symbol of this coming together of diverse personal and political backgrounds. From the ‘Bardellians’ of the 1st hour to the latest rallies whose backgrounds say something about the urgency of our political situation,” Androuët told Euractiv.

A list of ‘career paths’

On the immigration front, the far-right party has included the essayist Malika Sorel-Sutter (2nd place), who is very critical of European immigration policy, and Fabrice Leggeri (3rd place), the former head of Frontex.

On the police and justice front, the “party à la flamme” has included former police chief Matthieu Valet (7th place), magistrate Pascale Piera (10th place), lawyer and former MEP Alexandre Varaut (13th place) and lawyer Sylvie Josserand (26th place).

While Androuët is well placed, Gaëtan Dussausaye, who is in 29th place.

Having failed to attract defectors from the classical right, as he managed to do with Mariani and Garraud in 2019, Bardella is rewarding party loyalists who are little known to the general public. For example, Mélanie Disdier, a long-time party supporter in Le Pen’s home region of Hauts-de-France, has risen from 56th to 6th place.

(Paul Messad | Euractiv.fr)

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