The Rassemblement National, through Marine Le Pen, is considering alliances with MPs from other parties to achieve an absolute majority after the second round of legislative elections

What strategy will the Rassemblement National adopt after the second round of legislative elections? Jordan Bardella is continuing to call on voters for an “absolute majority” to mobilise his electorate, but the party appears to be preparing to seek new allies to achieve the 289 MPs needed. This is what Marine Le Pen said on Tuesday 2 July.

“We can’t agree to go into government if we can’t act”, insisted Marine Le Pen on France Inter, asserting that she did not want to “betray her voters”. However, she said that if her party were to approach an absolute majority, for example with 270 MPs, the RN would seek to attract “a certain number of MPs, for example various right-wing, various left-wing or even members of the Republicans who have expressed a closeness to the RN in the past”, in reference to the few LR MPs who have already voted in favour of a motion of censure tabled by the far-right group.

“I will not be a second Prime Minister”

“If we then have a majority, we will go”, explains Marine Le Pen. This position is the subject of debate within the party. One strategist argues the other way round: “If we’re just one elected member short of a majority, we’ll be at the mercy of the goodwill of a 289th MP, who would swing the majority,” he explains. Only the RN group and the group of official ally Éric Ciotti would be reliable, in his view.

Marine Le Pen also sets out her vision post 7 July

In the event of a victory for her camp, she has no intention of joining the government or seeking the perch of the Assembly, but will remain president of her group, which would become the majority group in the Assembly. “I will not be a second Prime Minister”, insisted Marine Le Pen, affirming her respect for Jordan Bardella. She asserted that Jordan Bardella’s government was “ready”. “It will be complete, competent, made up of people from the RN, people who took part in the electoral battle and people from civil society”, she said, pointing out in particular that the person appointed to the Ministry of the Economy has knowledge of public finances and business.

The RN never ceases to claim the competence of its recruits, yet is obliged to withdraw some of its candidates

Ludivine Daoudi, who posed with a Nazi cap in a photo taken several years ago, has been asked to withdraw from the race in the first constituency of Calvados, in Caen. The RN departmental delegate described the photo as “in poor taste”. In another surprising case, in the 2nd constituency of Jura, a candidate still in the running was found to be ineligible. Thierry Mosca, who has been placed under curatorship, could have his election annulled by a judge. The party has not yet decided on his future.