French right-wing nationalism: the rise of the Rassemblement National

This chapter focuses on the evolution of the French right-wing nationalism, which is exclusionary in nature and is associated with Rassemblement National (former Front National) party. While RN’s nationalism has always been reactionary, the chapter argues that it has evolved from being anti-republican under Jean-Marie Le Pen to the one that focuses on the defence of laïcité, an essential component of the French republicanism, which allowed the party to mainstream its appeal to the broader population. RN’s electoral success cannot solely be attributed to the de-detoxication strategy, pursued by Marine Le Pen, but is also explained by the normalisation of RN’s discourse by mainstream right, the emergence of Macron’s movement En Marche and his attempts to cater to RN voters during his second presidential term. All this led to the full embededness of RN in the French party system, as demonstrated by the results of 2024 snap election.