Gilles Pennelle, Member of the European Parliament and head of investitures for the far-right party, has resigned as Director General of the Rassemblement National (RN) following the mixed results of the parliamentary elections

This information, confirmed by H24 NEWS and initially reported by Le Monde, marks the first notable consequence of the second round of legislative elections for Marine Le Pen’s party.

Elected as a Member of the European Parliament on June 9, Pennelle remains in this position despite his resignation as Director General of the RN. He was the main architect of the “Matignon Plan”, which proposed a list of candidates for the 577 constituencies in anticipation of a possible dissolution of the National Assembly. Pennelle’s resignation is directly linked to the shortcomings of this plan, as several far-right candidates were criticized for anti-Semitic or racist remarks. The RN and its allies won 143 seats, coming in behind the New Popular Front and the Macronist camp, falling short of poll expectations.

RN president Jordan Bardella acknowledged mistakes during the early legislative campaign on Monday, taking some responsibility for both the European election victory and the recent defeat. “I take my share of responsibility both for the victory in the European elections and for yesterday’s defeat,” he declared outside RN HQ.