After the French regional elections, which ended so embarrassingly for the “Rassemblement National”, Marine Le Pen spoke of a “deceptive picture”: the fact that the vast majority of French people stayed at home does not mean that they want a president Le Pen would have passed.

In fact, it would be wrong to interpret the regional elections as an anticipated presidential election.

The Rassemblement National's party convention at the weekend also gave a deceptive picture, which apparently went so much better for Le Pen: With more than 98 percent of the votes, she was confirmed as party leader, and her 25-year-old student Jordan Bardella was elected first The deputy gives her the assurance that she will keep the reins in hand even if she soon concentrates entirely on the election campaign and lets the party office rest.

The brilliant results obscure the fact that the party is rumbling.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the outcast father of the party leader, is not alone with his lament about the "de-lepenization".

Many members want to continue to leave the EU, but the candidate has sanded these and other edges.

The enthusiasm in the hard core fizzles out, and the more normal the party is, the fewer protest voters it attracts. But if the leadership's tactics do not match the convictions of the grassroots, then the voters will notice. The populists are no different from any other party.