Why the French Far Right is Going to Sink the Working Class
The National Rally's Suicidal Economic Agenda
Dear Reader,
As a French leftist, the prospect of having the far-right in power for the first time since World War II is more than disconcerting. In the following article, I have strived for the facts to remain facts. The conclusions I draw from them are obviously biased. Happy reading, and to any French readers, votez!
Context
After the French far-right’s crushing victory in June’s European parliamentary elections, president Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called for snap parliamentary elections on June 30th and July 7th. This decision was met with disbelief by voters, politicians, and press alike. Many media outlets described it as a “gamble”123, and a Senegalese news source even equated Macron’s move to a “constitutional nuke”.4 If there’s international panic around the elections, it’s because the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) party could very well obtain an absolute majority in France’s lower house of Parliament. In the first round of the elections on Sunday, the National Rally won a majority of the vote. A second round will take place on the 7th of July. Learn more about the election process here.
The National Rally is a far-right party founded in 1972 by neo-fascists and former Waffen-SS members5
“We are the working-class Right […] we are the Right of equality […] we are also the national Right for whom the worship of the fatherland is the highest form of solidarity”.6
Declared in 1972, the words of Jean-Marie Le Pen, (an alleged torturer during the Algerian War789 and former president of the National Rally) sum up the motivations of the typical far-right French voter today. For years, the party’s populist rhetoric has increasingly appealed to millions of voters who feel abandoned by the Parisian elites, embodied by president Macron. Similarly, the party has drawn on the resentment felt towards the mainstream centrist, right-wing, and leftist parties. Moreover, the National Rally has utilised the idea of a “nation in decline”, corrupted by globalisation, immigration, and Islam.1011 In short, it claims to be economically left-leaning and socially conservative. Consequently, the far-right mobilised the majority of blue-collar voters during the first round of these elections, as found in a recent survey.
In fact, this survey suggests that the poorer a person is, the more likely they are to vote for the National Rally. However, this preference goes against the French proletariat’s best interests: the RN’s economic agenda does not benefit the working-class, or even France’s economy in general. Let me explain why.
The National Rally’s Votes Reflect Corporate Interests
Here are only some of the measures that the French far-right has refused to back or has approved on a national or European Union level:
In the National Assembly: 12 13
In 2022 the National Rally opposed raising the minimum wage.
In late 2022 the National Rally approved pressuring employees to accept a certain kind of work contract under threat of losing unemployment benefits.
(Read more about this measure here in the section labeled “Pour forcer les salariés en CDD à accepter un CDI”)
In 2023 it opposed indexing salaries to inflation.
In 2020 the National Rally opposed fighting the gender wage gap.
In 2022 it opposed establishing an EU minimum wage that would raise the wages of 25 million Europeans.
In 2023 it opposed reinforcing workplace democracy.
With this in mind, can the French working-class trust the far-right to govern them?
The National Rally Has Growing Ties With Lobbies
The National Rally’s neoliberal agenda becomes clear when examining the ties between the party and various lobbies. An investigation by the French newspaper Le Monde found that RN politicians have been actively seeking out support from the real estate, tobacco and pharmaceutical lobbies, to name a few.17
For example: Sophie Dumont (a National Rally candidate for the 4th electoral district of Côte D’Or), organised a meeting between NèreS, a pharma lobby, and other members of the party.
What do such ties entail? The National Rally pushes for tax cuts, deregulation, and other measures that favour these industries’ profit margins. These measures benefit capital, not labor.
A political party that courts the lobbies cannot be entrusted with the well-being of the proletariat.
The National Rally’s Neoliberal Fiscal Policy Benefits the Top 10%
First, when examining the National Rally’s program for 2024 (feel free to consult it here), it becomes clear that they are pursuing a neoliberal economic policy. Indeed, corporate tax cuts and reduced government spending are on the menu.
For instance, they seek to exempt companies from employer payroll tax when they increase their employees’ salaries by a mere 10%.18 Such an exemption would deprive the French government of revenue needed to fund social programs or pensions.
More importantly, the RN is backtracking on its decisions to abolish Macron’s pension reform.19 20 This reform is hugely unpopular.
However, the most damning verdict comes from economists themselves. Economists Elvire Guillaud et Raul Sampognaro analysed the National Rally’s proposed fiscal policy21 and found that it would theoretically lead to:
a) A decrease of 1% in the standard of living for the poorest 30%.
b) An increase of 1.5% in the standard of living for the top 10%.
These figures might seem inconsequential, but they underline a lie. This is the biggest lie in French politics: that a National Rally government will help the working class. It’s quite the opposite. They plan on taxing the poor, excluding immigrants from social benefits22 23 and siphoning that wealth off to the ultra-rich.
* Impact of National Rally measures (aside from pension reform) on the standard of living in households, contribution of different measures as a percentage of national distributed income (= disposable income with all public services included)
* * How to read the graph: Measured in proportion to their national distributed income (including all public services), the average standard of living for the poorest 10% decreases by 0.9% after the application of the National Rally’s entire economic policy; this is essentially due to an anti-redistributive fiscal policy and economic measures relating to the operations of government agencies. The negative effects of this policy are not offset by government spending in healthcare or education.
The National Rally’s economic and fiscal policy is profoundly reactionary. It actively attacks the working-class.
Towns with National Rally Mayors are a Disaster
A common argument made by the French far-right is that it has never had the chance to govern, unlike the mainstream left, right, and center. Therefore, the National Rally could theoretically make positive changes that other parties would not be capable of making. This argument is misleading. The National Rally may not have governed the country, but it is currently governing over a dozen French towns and villages. By examining what National Rally mayors have done to these areas, one can have an idea of how this party might govern France.
In towns with National Rally mayors, public services have been aggressively dismantled with the sole goal of reducing government spending. Public nursery schools, funeral homes, and pools have been privatised. 24
For instance, in the small town of Hénin-Beaumont, mayor Steeve Briois has privatised all three, leading to a 60% increase in admission prices at the local pool.
In an another example, mayor Joris Hébrard decreased government funding to Pontet’s centre communal d’action sociale (communal center for social action). In France, this a local public institution that helps low-income or otherwise vulnerable communities. In addition, this mayor has ended free school lunches and free after school day care for low-income families.
In a similar spirit, National Rally mayors have torn into charities, organisations, and sport clubs. Especially if they help immigrants.
In 2016, mayor Fabien Engelmen cut off gas and power to the local Secours populaire soup kitchen in the town of Hayange.25 This came after the city hall criticised the charity for being “politicised and pro-migrant”.26
Logically, if the National Rally does not govern for the working-class on a local level, it will not govern for it on a national level. Its neoliberal and xenophobic governance is obvious and dangerous.
Conclusion
The National Rally does not fight for the proletariat, it fights for the bourgeoisie. It thrives off the failures of Macron’s government and feeds the working class with lies. Its delusional neoliberal agenda will only continue the destruction of the French welfare state which has alleviated class struggle thus far. Faced with this deception, the disillusionment with social democracy in France will be complete.
“Fascism is a particular governmental system based on the uprooting of all elements of proletarian democracy within bourgeois society.”
— Trotsky, What Next? Vital Questions for the German Proletariat (1932)
Sources below:
https://www.ft.com/content/939062f8-5734-4def-a4dd-879430703052
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/6/28/macrons-election-gamble-ignited-a-much-needed-flame-in-the-french-left
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cekk9n1je9yo
https://www.seneplus.com/international/france-macron-dissout-lassemblee-apres-la-victoire-du-rn
https://www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/video/caf94084200/declaration-m-le-pen-president-front-national
https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/le-pen-et-la-torture-l-histoire-qui-s-ecrit-a-coups-de-temoignages-et-de-traces-3884201
https://www.liberation.fr/politique/elections/jean-marie-le-pen-et-la-torture-en-algerie-la-nuit-il-allait-a-la-recherche-de-suspects-20240206_IRWYYLEPOZEIJJTABY46LWUQI4/
https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2024/03/01/le-pen-et-la-torture-alger-1957-l-histoire-contre-l-oubli-l-implacable-dossier_6219510_3232.html
https://www.ifop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/120136-Rapport-RN-Ensemble.pdf
https://www.alternatives-economiques.fr/vote-rn-sest-diffuse-toute-societe/00111393
https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/politique/260624/le-rn-n-est-pas-l-ami-des-travailleurs-la-preuve-par-ses-votes
https://www.cgt.fr/votesRN
https://www.france24.com/fr/europe/20240529-jordan-bardella-et-le-rn-au-parlement-europ%C3%A9en-absent%C3%A9isme-contradictions-et-int%C3%A9r%C3%AAts-des-lobbies
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/europeennes/elections-europeennes-quel-est-le-bilan-du-rassemblement-national-au-parlement-europeen_6319938.html
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2023/12/08/le-discret-flirt-entre-le-rassemblement-national-et-les-lobbys_6204574_823448.html
https://www.alternatives-economiques.fr/programme-economique-rassemblement-national-ne-tient-rout/00111476
https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/economie-et-social/130624/en-matiere-d-economie-le-rn-dit-tout-et-son-contraireSolenne
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2024/06/12/elections-legislatives-2024-jordan-bardella-revient-sur-la-promesse-du-rn-d-abroger-la-reforme-des-retraites-s-il-parvient-au-pouvoir_6238949_823448.html
https://www.alternatives-economiques.fr/programme-rn-consiste-a-ponctionner-pauvres-redistribuer-aux-plu/00111547
https://www.la-croix.com/france/legislatives-2024-la-preference-nationale-colonne-vertebrale-du-projet-du-rn-20240624
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2024/06/12/elections-legislatives-2024-jordan-bardella-revient-sur-la-promesse-du-rn-d-abroger-la-reforme-des-retraites-s-il-parvient-au-pouvoir_6238949_823448.html
https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/270624/services-publics-abimes-violence-sociale-opposition-muselee-le-bilan-des-villes-gerees-par-le-rn
https://lareleveetlapeste.fr/voici-comment-le-rn-a-mene-sa-politique-antisociale-dans-les-communes-francaises-et-au-parlement-europeen/
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this is the standard across the resurgent far right. Resentment doesn't make informed political decisions but it makes the political landscape manipulable.
Great work, as per usual!