It is a historic moment in France. The far-right National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, gained 31.4% of the votes in the European elections, and President Macron’s party got only half that. Responding Macron dissolved parliament and called a snap election.  Early projections are uncertain but scary, predicting a parliament with no overall majority. Projections see the RN with more seats than any other single party and well-dressed fascist Jordan Bardella as Prime minister.

I do not consider this the most likely outcome, but the danger is very real. Already the media carry interviews of various union leaders, business leaders, and voluntary sector representatives asking them “How will your organization adapt once the RN is in government?” The idea of a far-right government as a realistic and acceptable option has been normalized.

If the RN were to take office, it would be a catastrophe. Even without a parliamentary majority, they would have power to appoint or dismiss hundreds of top civil servants in every field, control of the police, education and cultural sectors and so on. Their capacity to persecute Muslims, trade unionists, LGBT people and others would be terrifying. Green initiatives and safeguards would be thrown on the rubbish heap.

There are four main reasons that the far-right vote is so high. Firstly, Marine Le Pen has persuaded the majority that the RN has broken with its past and is just like any other party. We – who think the organization is a threat to democracy – are in a minority of 41% according to a recent poll. Secondly, Macron has helped the far right by adopting parts of its program. In particular a whole series of laws victimizing Muslims, which do not have a serious practical aim, but are part of a “divide and rule” strategy. Macron hopes people will hate Muslims instead of neoliberalism. Thirdly, Macron’s vicious attacks on pensions, benefits and public services have increased the misery which fascism feeds on. Finally, the Left has not organized a serious, permanent, long-term, mass national campaign of harassment and education to stop Le Pen from building her party structures. The Left has generally considered that building a radical alternative is sufficient, and that there is little need to take aim specifically at  RN activities.

Unity can beat the fascists

There is everything to play for in the weeks to come. At the European elections on June 9th, nine million people voted for the far right. Eight million voted for some shade of left-wing politics. Seven million voted for Macron or for the traditional right wing parties. And twenty four million people stayed at home. Three quarters of these abstainers do sometimes turn out to vote at election time, so they could certainly be persuaded to do so this time.

The NR remains a party with a fascist core, whose logo is based on the flame symbol of supporters of Mussolini. It pretends to defend ordinary people even as it regularly votes in parliament against workers’ interests. It voted against raising the minimum wage (in 2022); against rent freezes (in 2023); against increasing resources for victims of domestic violence (in 2016) – and so on. It promises to slash inheritance taxes for the rich and to reserve social housing for people of French nationality. It aims to increase prison sentences and make it even harder to prosecute killer cops.

Unity is required to defeat the fascists, in parliament, in the streets and elsewhere. But two different types of unity have been proposed. Many suggest the unity of all democratic parties – left and right – against the fascists. The ex-Socialist président, François Hollande has just this week insisted this is the best option. This has been tried at various elections in France over the last 25 years. Millions voted Macron at presidential elections in 2017 and in 2022 purely “to keep the fascists out”. A huge row broke out on the Left between those who wanted to vote Macron against Le Pen and those who would vote for neither. 

This idea of unity with neoliberals against the far right has been a disaster. Macron’s neoliberal crusade was strengthened by the votes lent to him by left-wingers. Predictably enough, Macron’s strategy was to defeat Le Pen by stealing parts of her programme, an idea which backfired completely and led to millions more voting for the National Rally.

The “New Popular Front”

The unity we need is that of the Left. It is extremely good news then that the four main left parties – the France Insoumise (France in Revolt), the Socialist Party, the Communist Party and the Greens – agreed an electoral pact this week, so that there will be only one left candidate per constituency. Several smaller groups, such as the New Anticapitalist Party, have joined the pact.

These elections take place in two rounds. If there are several left candidates in a town, the chances of a second round opposing only right and far right are much increased. So this agreement will automatically reduce the number of far right MPs elected by several dozen. But it also has two other crucial strong points.

Firstly, people will be able to vote for a break with neoliberalism. An alliance which simply says “No to fascism!” is not enough (especially when millions are not convinced they are fascists). This is why the new electoral alliance has also produced a programme for government.

The alliance has chosen as a name the “New Popular Front”, in reference to a radical government from the 1930s which is remembered for important social reforms, notably for introducing paid holidays. Its real history is far less glorious than its reputation. Hence this name – New Popular Front – might be misunderstood by Marxist readers. Because this alliance is only made up of left wing organizations. Whereas Marxists have often used the term “popular front” to refer to wider alliances which include parties which are not left wing.

Its programme, published on Friday morning, begins by declaring the need for a complete break with Macronism. It promises  that  a left alliance government, if there is one, will raise the minimum wage by 15% and all public employees wages by 10%. It will cancel the recent two-year rise in the standard retirement age and aim at returning later to retirement at 60. It will cancel the recent cuts in unemployment benefit and re-establish the wealth tax abolished by Macron. Other plans are to build a million homes, defend tenants’ rights, invest heavily in opposing violence against women, and abrogate the recent racist immigration laws.

These are just a few of the many measures proposed in its programme. A dynamic campaign can use them to get millions more to vote for the New Popular Front. And the campaign is set to be dynamic. The danger of the far right, the fact of the united front, and the radical program, are three enormous encouragements. Several thousand activists joined the France Insoumise networks in the 48 hours after the snap elections were announced. Last Monday, as the four organizations were negotiating, hundreds of young people outside the building were chanting the need for unity.

The mobilization is not limited to political parties. There are demonstrations against the far right called by the main trade unions in 200 towns this weekend. Human rights groups, feminist organizations, cooperative groups, and campaigns such as ATTAC and Greenpeace are calling to vote and to mobilize against fascism. 

Serious mistakes

Three far left publications in France declared their opposition to the New Popular Front this week. One of their arguments was that elections don’t matter and electoral campaigns “undermine” the “real” antifascist movement. This is a serious mistake. Certainly, organizing outside parliament to oppose Le Pen and Bardella is essential. But how could we attract large numbers of people to fight fascism while showing them that we did not care whether Bardella gets to be Prime Minister or not? 

The other argument was that – Now that the radical Left France Insoumise proposes a joint programme with the Greens and the Socialist Party, many important, more radical elements of the FI programme could be downplayed or omitted. For example,  stopping nuclear power is not mentioned in the programme, and nor is leaving NATO. But one cannot propose an alliance on the basis that other parties abandon their political ideas! In addition, there is nothing in the compromise programme that prevents each party from continuing to campaign for its own priorities. We must also remember that, if the Left should win the election, there will still be a need for mass movements and strikes to make sure the new government implements real change. It will be faced with the organized hostility of investors, bankers, billionaires and their ilk.

Though there is plenty of enthusiasm in the united left campaign, it will nevertheless be an uphill struggle, and much patient explanation will be required. Defeatism is common. You even hear people of generally left sympathy suggesting that it would not be a bad thing for the NR to be in government for a few years – “to show people how dreadful they are”. Many are tempted by Macron’s lie that “extremism” of left and right are similar.

Anti-capitalists must build the election campaign and the anti-fascist mobilization, as well as putting forward our own arguments. A radical left government would be under enormous attack by international and French capital. We need to be discussing what happens to left governments under pressure and what can be done about it. These debates in and around the France Insoumise have been rare. Partly because the most prominent Marxist organizations have not generally debated seriously with left reformists.

There will be many ups and downs. No doubt between the two rounds of elections there will be another blazing row, about whether it is acceptable or not to vote for Macron’s candidate against a fascist candidate. This is just one moment in a long political crisis.  The   left-wing alternative, and the rise of the France Insoumise, result from the mass working class struggles of the last thirty years. That showed that political class consciousness was widespread in France. If we get a left government, there will be much work to do to make sure promises are carried out. If the elections go badly for us, it will just be the beginning of the struggle.

In the European elections on June 9th,  Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party (RN) won 30% of the vote, more than double the share of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party. Can you briefly outline what you see contributed to RN’s success?

There are three elements. Firstly, Marine Le Pen has been extremely successful in persuading most people, over the last ten years, that the RN is just a party like any other. An opinion poll last December showed that only 41% of French citizens now consider Le Pen’s party to be “a danger to democracy”. The RN was even able to participate last November in a “march against antisemitism” without opposition from Macron or other participants!

National Rally MPs work hard,  turning up at every prizegiving or car boot sale in town, smiling, avoiding controversy, and looking like normal people. This “detoxification” has been successful despite the fact that the party contains a solid fascist core, and that its election campaign leaflets, under the slogan “France is coming back!” listed as first priority “defending your identity and your borders”.

Leading candidate and president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, spouts endless lies about the economy being ruined by the aid given to lazy asylum seekers, and about the supposed threat of violent anti-French racism.

Secondly, since “divide and rule” has been Macron’s speciality, he has been strengthening the RN by pretending that people with roots outside France, and Muslims in particular, are a threat to the French way of life. Two years back, his so-called “law against separatism” involved making employment discrimination against Muslims much easier, banning Muslim legal defence organizations, and deporting several Muslim preachers on trumped-up accusations whose main aim was islamophobic scaremongering.

His ministers have claimed French universities are now under the thumb of “islamoleftists”. Established news magazines such as Le Point and L’Express, help the RN too, running regular front pages on the “threat of Islam”. Another of his ministers declared that National Rally was closer to republican values than was the radical left France Insoumise (FI).

In addition, his brutal neoliberal cuts, including attacks on pensions, on health and education services and unemployment benefits,  have considerably increased the desperation which can find an outlet in support for the far right.

Finally, the Left has not put sufficient attention on opposition to the building of the National Rally. Most left organizations in France believe that building a left alternative, to hold out hope for improvement in people’s lives, is enough to cut the grass from under the fascists’ feet. The specific tasks of stopping the RN from building its organization, of making sure every time the RN has a local meeting of twenty people there are fifty people demonstrating against, of setting up door to door antifascist work in towns where fascists get the most votes, and so on, is generally not being done, with the exception of some local initiatives.

Snap legislative elections will be held in France in three weeks. Do you think Le Pen will be able to repeat that success? What additional factors will influence the vote?

The legislative elections work very differently, and Le Pen does not have a strong national party network of activists. Nevertheless, the danger is very real. Le Pen right now has 89 members of parliament in the lower house. To have an overall majority, 289 seats are required. At the moment Macron, with his close allies, has 249, and his government has had to negotiate with other parties to get each bill through. After the collapse of Macron’s vote in the European elections (falling from 22% to 14%), he is expected to lose many seats, and the RN is expected to gain a lot.

The RN may also benefit from the deep crisis in the traditional conservative party, the Republicans. If the RN were to become the biggest single group in the parliament, Macron would appoint their leader, Jordan Bardella, as Prime Minister. This would be a catastrophe. As government, the RN would immediately have power over the police and the economy. Its credibility, and its ability to hurt workers, immigrants, LGBT people and so on, would be multiplied many times, while green projects and regulations would be ruthlessly slashed.

Macron is saying he stands against “the extremism of the right and of the left”. By “extremism of the left” he is referring to the France Insoumise (France in Revolt) grouping, which has 75 MPs and has done an excellent job of foregrounding the question of the genocide in Gaza, of insisting that taxing the rich is possible, of opposing anti-Muslim racism and of defending in every area the need for improvements in working class lives. This profile allowed the FI to get votes of over 50% last Sunday in a number of multiethnic working-class towns like Saint Denis and Bobigny, and to get 9% nationally.

Macron is hoping that, one more time,  people will vote for his representatives “ in order to stop the far right”.  But he has been claiming to be stopping the far right for 8 years, and Le Pen and  other fascists now receive millions more votes than they did 8 years ago.

I would not like to predict the results of the elections. No doubt the most likely outcome is a parliament with no overall majority, and a coalition government – but who will be in that coalition is impossible to say.

What are the prospects for the left in the election? 

These elections, for 577 seats, take place in two rounds.  A candidate can be elected outright in the first round by getting more than 50% of votes. Otherwise, the second round run-off goes ahead, in each constituency, with the two top scorers, and occasionally a third candidate who got a score over 12.5% and wishes to remain in the race. If there are several left candidates in a town, the chances of a second round opposing only the right and the far right are much increased.

Four organizations – the France Insoumise, the Ecologists, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party – are in negotiations. They have agreed to share out the constituencies so that there is only one left candidate in each constituency. Projections show that this alliance (the “New Popular Front”) will reduce the number of seats won by Le Pen’s party by several dozen.

The plan is excellent news. The pressure from below, and from trade union leaders and campaigning organizations such as ATTAC for this unity, was unstoppable. On Monday, during the talks, there were hundreds of young people outside the building chanting “young people demand a popular front!” and slogans supporting the alliance are common on the daily antifascist demonstrations we are seeing this week. The New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), alongside many other groups has announced support for the pact.

A minority of left activists are insisting that electoral agreements are not important, and that only anti-fascist activity in the streets can make a difference, or even that such alliances undermine the antiracist movement. This position is both childish, and, in the present situation, dangerous. If Jordan Bardella were to become Prime Minister it would be an extremely serious blow to the workers’ movement and to antiracism.

Anti-capitalist activists must get involved in the electoral campaign. The mobilization will go much further than the political parties involved. Already four of the biggest trade unions have called for antifascist demonstrations across the country this coming weekend. High school students have been protesting in a number of towns. We have two weeks to build a powerful movement to win these elections, and to put pressure on the government which emerges. 

How is La France Insoumise mobilising on the ground and what platform is it taking to voters to combat the influence of the right?

The left organizations understand that an electoral pact is essential, but also that to attract voters, it must say more than simply “we hate the National Rally”. There are only a few days in which to put together a program, and the program, to be released this weekend, must be accepted by very different political forces.

The France Insoumise  is having to ally, for example, with some from the Socialist Party who recently joined the disgusting smear campaign against its leader Mélenchon, claiming that he was antisemitic because of his support for Palestine. The initial declaration announced the need for a “complete break with Macronism”, and it looks like there will be an agreement on a series of urgent measures to be carried out in the first three months if the New Popular Front takes office. 

One key measure which will be promised is the immediate cancellation of the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64, which was brought in last year amid months of mass strikes and protests. Interestingly, Jordan Bardella, who had always pretended to oppose Macron’s retirement age reforms, has announced this week that if he becomes Prime Minister, he will not reverse it. This is because the far right is desperately searching for more support from capitalists, who are mostly very hesitant about the National Rally.

The France Insoumise campaign for the European elections was very dynamic, with mass door to door canvassing in many towns, and many public meetings overflowing. In the last few days many thousands of new activists have joined the FI groups, mostly young people determined that the fascists shall not pass. Trade Unions and campaigning organizations of every description, from Greenpeace to the Human Rights League, are getting involved to stop Bardella.

This electoral campaign is very much an uphill struggle for the Left, but there is a lot to fight for. We must remember that 24 million voters stayed home on the day of the European elections, and most of them do not like fascism. We must push for the broadest, most energetic and creative antifascist uprising 21st century France has seen.