La vraie victoire du RN

The real winner of the 2022 French presidential elections was the far-right party Rassemblement National. The final score of RN candidate, Marine Le Pen, marked a substantial increase from the second round of the 2017 election. Her party was able to form a group of 89 MPs in the National Assembly, altering the political centre of gravity, and attracting middle- and upper-class voters, including among public servants.

As an expert analyst of French politics, Luc Rouban explains this major shift by an accumulation of factors. Marine Le Pen's political platform, combining authority and social issues, seemed to respond to the expectations of a major portion of voters who have moved to the right, and who are still looking for security, but also for the promotion of economics and equity in the treatment of citizens. The RN presents itself as a party that seeks to protect the way of life of all French people, despite the impact of globalisation and climate change. In the historic tension that pits it against Macronism, it has become the standard bearer of vulnerability.