On Saturday, September 20th, MEP Marion Maréchal gathered supporters of her young political party, Identité Libertés. At a time when political debate in France is focused on the possibility of new legislative elections, Maréchal intends to set herself apart by capitalising on the momentum enjoyed by conservative movements at the European level. Her goal is to convince the French right wing of the need to unite to win.
While European issues tend to inspire mistrust among the French, who are currently among the most sceptical European nations towards the European Union, Marion Maréchal does not share this view—quite the contrary. At her September rally, held on Saturday in Paris, the MEP, elected in June 2024, chose to present herself alongside other MEPs from her parliamentary group, the ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists). In France, this approach is unusual.
Marion Maréchal has two reasons for doing this. First, the main success of her young party can currently be measured on the European stage, as it has four MEPs, who split from Éric Zemmour’s party, Reconquête. Second, the detour via Europe is a political argument for her: she intends to highlight the successful experiences of conservatives abroad in order to shift the balance of power on the French Right.
As a result, the slogan of the meeting served as her political programme: “In Europe, the Right is winning” (En Europe, la droite qui gagne.) On the podium, alongside Marion Maréchal, were MEPs from Italy, Bulgaria, and Sweden, members of political parties that have come to power in their respective countries thanks to winning coalitions. Linda Lindberg, president of the Sweden Democrats’ parliamentary group, was present, as was Ivaylo Valchev, Bulgarian MEP and head of the ECR delegation from Bulgaria to the European Parliament.
Giorgia Meloni’s Italy was the subject of a particularly strong tribute, and a working group was devoted to the Italian prime minister’s party’s winning strategy. Maréchal was also able to boast about the broadcast of a dedicated recording of Meloni expressing her support.
Interviewed by CNews following the event, Maréchal reiterated her conviction that an alliance between French right-wing parties is necessary, even though the antagonisms between them remain very strong today. She also outlined the contours of a common political programme:
We can unite all right-wing parties around a programme that aims to reduce and control immigration, restore authority and security, and break free from socialist thinking.
If the price to pay to ensure that my daughters do not end up wearing veils is to work with people who were my competitors yesterday or whom I do not particularly like on a personal level, I am willing to pay that price ten, a hundred, a thousand times over, and now if necessary!
Maréchal’s party also stands out for the political themes it addressed at the event. Significant attention was given to social issues such as surrogacy and the civilisational struggle—divisive conservative themes that she considers insufficiently addressed by her allies in the Rassemblement National and on which she wants to make her specific views heard.
A tribute was paid to Philippine, as the Identité-Libertés meeting coincided exactly with the first anniversary of the rape and murder of the young girl by a Moroccan man under OQTF (obligation to leave French territory) who had been unduly released by the courts. The case had made a deep impression in France, to the point of making Philippine a political symbol.
