Le Pen’s National Rally Sends Shockwaves Through France After Electoral Breakthrough

Le Pen’s National Rally Sends Shockwaves Through France After Electoral Breakthrough
Marine Le Pen, French National Rally (Rassemblement National) party candidate, looks on in the second round of the French parliamentary elections, in Henin-Beaumont, France, on June 19, 2022. Johanna Geron/Reuters
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France’s right wing party National Rally (RN) scored a historic success in legislative elections on Sunday increasing its number of lawmakers almost tenfold and cementing the party’s rise from fringe status to the mainstream opposition.

RN leader Marine Le Pen’s rebranding of the party, previously National Front, secured 42 percent in April’s presidential election, successfully winning support from voters disenchanted with President Emmanuel Macron and angry over globalist policies they see as driving the rising cost of living and the decline of many rural communities.