In deciding not to shore up Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his center-right government over an austere budget aimed at reducing France’s massive deficit, Le Pen pleased her traditional base. But the move sparked disagreement at the heart of her far-right National Rally party, one of the three big blocs in a fragmented French parliament.
“National Rally officials were very divided about whether they should vote to topple the government,” said a former far-right official, who was granted anonymity to protect relationships. “They are scared that they will go back to being a fringe party.”
For Le Pen to become president, “she needs the pensioners, people who like stability … and now they are probably lost,” the official said.
It’s something her adversaries have already latched onto, gleefully talking up how Le Pen is back to being the reckless and destructive force that has seen her win a record number of lawmakers but lose the contest to be president three times since 2012.
Mindful of how easily Le Pen could lose the middle ground, Macron slammed her party for joining the far left in an “anti-Republican front.” Her party was simply “spawning chaos,” according to one French lawmaker.
It’s a sudden and dramatic about-turn for Le Pen. For years she’s been trying to cultivate a more reasonable image, imposing strict discipline on party officials and taking a zero-tolerance attitude to racism and antisemitism.
But she remains unmoved. “I don’t gamble, I don’t play at the casino … I take political decisions,” she said in an interview on Wednesday. “We were faced with an irresponsible budget, and we tried to be responsible.”