Le Pen puts housing and cost-of-living pressures at the centre of Hénin-Beaumont address

Marine Le Pen placed housing and the cost-of-living crisis at the heart of her presidential campaign on Sunday, telling residents of Hénin-Beaumont in northern France that French citizens would be “first in their own country,” regardless of skin colour, religion or origin.

“We will guarantee all French citizens a natural and fair right, as is done in every country in the world,” said the figurehead of the far-right National Rally.

The presidential candidate said she would address problems affecting both social and private housing, blaming environmental and administrative restrictions within planning rules.

Le Pen announced that a policy of “national priority” would apply to housing and said French citizens should receive preferential access to social homes.

She also proposed cutting VAT on gas, electricity and heating oil from 20% to 5.5%, while criticising the rise of taxes and levies. “Where is the money going when taxes and levies are getting heavier while the services delivered to French citizens are crumbling?” she asked.

Hénin-Beaumont: A National Rally stronghold

Over the years, Hénin-Beaumont, with an estimated population of 26,000, has become a National Rally stronghold. Mayor Steeve Briois has led the municipality for 14 years, while Le Pen has represented the Pas-de-Calais department, where the town is located, in France’s National Assembly since 2017.

Her first elected mandate came almost 20 years earlier, when she became a regional councillor for Nord-Pas-de-Calais, now part of Hauts-de-France, in 1998.

“How can I express my gratitude at seeing so many of you this year again, here, on this beautiful patriotic former mining land,” Le Pen told the crowd on Sunday.

Laurent Jacobelli, a National Rally deputy and party spokesperson, said the party’s appeal in the area is rooted in its message of sovereignty and economic renewal.

“The Pas-de-Calais region was formerly a mining hub, where people worked hard, paid their taxes, and gave everything to France to support their families and build homes. But they were violently let down by globalisation, by the failure of public services. Here we understood that sovereignty means something, that homeland and the nation are important values,” he told Euronews.

“This is why Marine Le Pen has won over voters: because she is proving that sovereignty and re-industrialisation are achievable.”

Although Jordan Bardella, who is seeking to become France’s next prime minister, did not address the crowd, Le Pen led supporters in singing “Happy Birthday” to him. The gesture projected unity amid reports of tensions between the party’s two leading figures in recent weeks.

Le Pen had a busy weekend. On Saturday, she met National Rally MPs for a closed-door political meeting in the coastal town of Le Touquet before travelling to Hénin-Beaumont on Sunday.

Local views on the National Rally

Le Pen’s visit was not the town’s only event. Sunday also brought its annual flea market. Although she cancelled her planned walk through the market because of “meteorological conditions,” residents from the town and surrounding areas still gathered in large numbers to sell second-hand goods despite the rain.

Local resident Cathy told Euronews that the National Rally’s positions were once “harder to defend,” but that she no longer sees them that way, describing Le Pen as “very brave.”

Her father, National Rally founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, openly promoted racist and antisemitic views. Over more than a decade, Marine Le Pen has sought to broaden the party’s appeal at home and abroad by rebranding the National Front as the National Rally and distancing it from his legacy.

The party faced renewed criticism last week after French regional newspaper Midi Libre published a video recorded in November 2025 showing several municipal police officers in Carcassonne making racist, sexist and conspiracy-related remarks during a night patrol.

Although the video attracted national attention, some local supporters said they had not seen it or considered it significant.

“I don’t think that just because we vote for Marine Le Pen that we are racists,” said Antoine, a 19-year-old National Rally activist, who declined to address the video’s contents specifically.

Other residents, including a policeman who identified himself only as Laurent, strongly supported Le Pen. In his view, she matches his idea of a president: “someone who prioritises national interests and fights for the people.”

Catherine, a local resident who works in Lille, said municipal authorities did a good job keeping the city safe and clean and offering activities for people of all ages.

Several residents also praised the town’s tax rates, noting that the municipal council has repeatedly reduced the property tax rate on buildings.

Asked about Le Pen’s 2027 presidential bid, many locals expressed support but either declined to discuss specific proposals or said they were unfamiliar with their details.

One recent retiree, who had lived in Hénin-Beaumont for 25 years and requested anonymity, said the National Rally worked hard to “dazzle” the community.

“Many businesses here are run by Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians. Some people think that if the National Rally comes to power, all the Arabs will leave. But we are French, we hold French passports, and many of us have dual nationality,” she said.

“I know many of my neighbours vote for the National Rally, but I look the other way. We do know how to live together here, as a community,” she said.

Sana, a Spanish-Moroccan local business owner, rejected Le Pen’s proposal to hold a referendum on banning the hijab in all public spaces.

“I don’t wear a headscarf, but for the rights of other women, I am against this kind of measure,” she told Euronews.

Meanwhile, activists from the Collectif Anti-Fasciste du Bassin Minier, an anti-fascist group in the mining region, displayed a protest banner outside Hénin-Beaumont train station on Sunday.

Ludivine, an activist, said many residents in Le Pen’s constituency “firmly stand against the far-right.”

“We are in post-industrial abandoned areas, where unemployment is rising, so the narrative that this is all the fault of scapegoats is rising very quickly,” she said.

Another activist, Laurence, stressed that “the fact the National Rally is in power does not remove the fact that plenty of people are unhappy; they may just stay quiet, be scared, or not know how to express their opposition and resistance to the horrible and dangerous ideas espoused by this party.”

One local businessman declined to share his views about the National Rally on condition of anonymity, saying he feared “issues” with local authorities and possible intimidation.

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