• According to a poll, the French have more confidence in Marine Le Pen than in all the other presidential candidates with regard to purchasing power.

  • A card rarely in the hands of far-right candidates, this area does not fall within its traditional field of competence.

  • Marine Le Pen is thus reaping the fruit of years of work to try to bring the economy and social issues into the program of the National Rally.

Two days before the first round of the presidential election, Marine Le Pen is seen as the most credible candidate on purchasing power, tied with Emmanuel Macron, according to an Ipsos Sopra-Steria survey for France Télévisions and Radio France published on 31 March.

A third (32%) of French people trust the two candidates in the second round of 2017, i.e. 4 points more than Jean-Luc Mélenchon (28%), while Valérie Pécresse (22%), Eric Zemmour and Fabien Roussel (16 % each) are relegated behind.

If the presidential candidate is known for his economic fiber, purchasing power is not a historical characteristic of the far right, recalls Gilles Ivaldi, researcher at the CNRS and the University of Nice and specialist in these parties in Europe.

"The first successes of the National Front, in the 1980s, were based solely on the themes of immigration, security and national identity", recalls the expert, who notes that most of the European extreme right concentrates on these more ideological than economic concepts.

Confirmation more than revelation

But then, where does this moult operated by the RN come from?

Everything changed with the arrival of Le Pen, a girl who was determined, from her first presidential election in 2012, to "walk on two legs", as she then presented it: one - classic - of the party, based on the questions of immigration and security, and the other on economic and social issues.

“We forget it, but the 2012 campaign of the National Rally was already very focused on the social and the economy, recalls Gilles Ivaldi.

Less that of 2017. Nevertheless, Marine Le Pen has been positioning herself on economic issues for years and building credibility.

Far from being a revelation in 2022, Marine Le Pen's credibility on purchasing power would therefore be more the concretization of a long work.

“The economic component of the RN borrows a lot from the economic left, giving the party a very advantageous neither-right nor left aspect.

He plays the card of economic populist patriotism, ”supports Erwan Lecoeur, sociologist and specialist on the far right.

Same analysis with Stéphane Rozès, president of Conseils Analyzes et Perspectives (CAP) and teacher at Sciences po: “Compared to 2017,

there is greater coherence and continuity at Marine Le Pen between national, economic and social issues.

The work of several years to get to grips with these questions”.

2022 and the alignment of the planets

2022 also brings its share of economic reasons.

In particular the opponents in the race for the Elysée, particularly Emmanuel Macron and Eric Zemmour.

The first must deal with the image of a “president of the rich and disconnected from the people, seen as a liberal and not a candidate in part of the left”, continues the sociologist.

The same goes for the former journalist, “who presents an ultra-liberal policy, making Marine Le Pen look much more measured economically and proposing a better policy of social justice”, slices the expert.

To the credit of the candidate, from her first campaign meeting, in Reims on February 5, "Marine Le Pen placed purchasing power at the heart of her presidential project and has always held to this line", recognizes Gilles Ivaldi .

All the advantage of being clearly identified with the extreme right and of having a party with a long history and a solid electoral base: "Unlike Eric Zemmour who must constantly insist on his key themes of security and identity to build a political identity, Marine Le Pen is already heir to these questions.

It therefore does not have to play the monomaniac on this discourse and can stretch its economic component”, develops Erwan Lecoeur.

A polished and effective speech

Being able to talk about purchasing power without recalling ideological themes is a definite advantage, confirms Stéphane Rozès: "Marine Le Pen takes full advantage of having been one of the first to take up this theme in 2022, and to talk about it continually.

The modern political divide, which goes beyond the left-right confrontation, also does its business, continues the political scientist.

All in a new cliche: globalists versus patriots.

“The idea is that the globalist candidates, starting with Emmanuel Macron, leave the French at the mercy of external competition and low wages.

This reinforces the credibility of Marine Le Pen on purchasing power, ”said the political specialist.

Erwan Lecoeur develops: "Marine Le Pen's economic discourse has taken on a protective dimension for nationals, with a very interventionist state and a whole host of measures to help people in precariousness or afraid of losing their social status".

Measures that it can extend thanks in particular to the small place given to ecological transition in its program: “It does not mind financing oil or gas.

In this sense, its purely economic program is simpler to implement.

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The trauma of 2017

There remains a big shadow on the board: the debate between the two rounds in 2017, during which the far-right candidate appeared outdated, especially on economic issues.

Did she learn from her mistakes?

Gilles Ivaldi lists three main lessons.

On the one hand, the 2022 program is more concise than that of 2017, where the candidate was lost.

Marine Le Pen's program contains only 72 proposals, against 385 for Eric Zemmour and 250 for Valérie Pécresse, for example, lists the researcher.

On the other hand, the candidate has worked more on her measurements, assures Gilles Ivaldi.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the program no longer contains the most controversial measures of 2017, in particular the famous exit from the euro.

But above all, be careful not to see Marine Le Pen as a Thomas Piketty/Nathalie Arthaud combo.

Erwan Lecoeur dispels the illusion: “The National Rally has never had a credible and serious economic program, and the economic measures for 2022 remain unclear.

It remains a populist agenda.”

Elections

Presidential 2022: Can Marine Le Pen win?

Politics

Presidential 2022: Remote televised duel between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen

  • Marine Le Pen

  • Presidential election 2022

  • purchasing power

  • Economy

  • Social

  • National Rally (RN)