The Rassemblement National (RN) held its big ‘back-to-school’ (rentrée) rally on Sunday, September 14th, in Bordeaux, at a crucial moment in French political news, with the new government, which is attracting everyone’s attention, needing to win over the French people and try to survive for more than a few days.
In France, in September, political parties traditionally meet to resume their activities after the long summer break and launch a new year of campaigning. The ‘rentrée’ marks a second start to the year and a new lease of life, mirroring the school calendar. In Bordeaux, the rentrée meeting had the feel of a campaign launch.
Executives and activists gathered for two days of work in the city of Bordeaux. Traditionally, western France has been rather resistant to the RN, which has achieved its best election results in the east of the country. For Marine Le Pen and her party, it is therefore a question of expanding its base. “We are setting out to conquer the west, where our results are steadily improving. Next year, we will be fielding three times as many candidates as in the last municipal elections,” she explained. The aim is to conquer new major cities in order to strengthen the party’s local roots, which remain fragile.
Between 6,000 and 7,000 activists gathered to listen to Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella at the podium. There were numerous jibes directed at former Prime Minister François Bayrou, who had long believed that by sending the right signals, he could win the favour of the RN and save his own skin. In vain: the RN was completely opposed to his budgetary programme, and, above all, since Marine Le Pen’s conviction in the spring, the party no longer has any interest in sparing the ruling power.
For France’s main opposition party, the chapter of tactical moderation is well and truly over. The legal battle and the political battle are now inextricably linked, and Le Pen intends to take advantage of the opportunity to hammer home her message: she and her party are at the centre of a gigantic manoeuvre designed to prevent them from coming to power.
At the end of March, Marine Le Pen was sentenced to a term of ineligibility with provisional enforcement (immediate execution) and appealed the decision. The appeal is due to be heard in January 2026. “In terms of timing, this appeal is historic. In addition to the possibility of early legislative elections, we had indicated to the public prosecutor’s office that we did not want this sequence to impact the municipal elections, but now it’s a double whammy. It is extremely rare for the trial of a politician to take place during an election campaign; this is a real interference by the justice system,” she protested.
In Bordeaux, the RN has outlined its roadmap. While the new government has not yet been formed, the RN is already anticipating its downfall, which is expected to occur “in a few weeks or months.” This is more of an observation than a prophecy. The new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, is due to meet with the RN and other party leaders on Wednesday, September 17th, but for the moment, he is very cautious about the idea of any political agreement with Le Pen and Bardella’s party.
