Marine Le Pen Opens 2027 Campaign as National Rally Rifts Intensify

Back in Hénin-Beaumont, the northern French town that serves as her political base, Marine Le Pen delivered her first major campaign address on Sunday.

Le Pen is relaunching her campaign for the 2027 presidential election in Hénin-Beaumont, following a Saturday appearance by National Rally MPs in Le Touquet, Pas-de-Calais.

A survey conducted on 8 and 9 September by OpinionWay for Les Échos gives Le Pen 34% voter support for the first round, placing her ahead under every scenario tested.

Her renewed campaign follows several setbacks in recent weeks, including reported friction with National Rally president Jordan Bardella, disputes over aid to Ukraine and fallout from a video showing a police officer who volunteers with the RN’s security team making racist, sexist and conspiracy-themed remarks.

Le Pen has also yet to respond publicly to an immigration agreement signed by Bardella and Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s hard-right Reform UK party. The proposed deal would return migrants intercepted in British waters to France if the two parties gain power.

Bardella’s Potential Role

Rumours of tensions between Le Pen and Bardella, who is seeking to become France’s next prime minister, have grown. According to Libération, the National Rally president said “it’s her or me” on 31 August after Le Pen reportedly announced that her niece, Marion Maréchal, would take on a larger role in the campaign.

During the 2022 presidential election, Maréchal backed Éric Zemmour, leader of the rival far-right Reconquête party, instead of supporting her aunt.

Bardella has rejected claims of a rift. Speaking to BFM-TV, he said: “Everything is going very, very well, I assure you. I support her 2,000%.” He described having an “unbreakable political and personal affinity” with Le Pen and denied seeking to impose his line on the party.

Their main strategic differences concern economic policy, particularly pensions. Bardella argues that France’s current system “is not economically sustainable.”

He also appears reluctant to elevate his “boss’s” proposal to ban the wearing of veils in public spaces into a central campaign issue. On 31 August, he said the aim was not “to impose a dress code” and stressed that a referendum would be held.

Bardella, who leads the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, also seems more market-oriented than Le Pen, whose party has traditionally favoured protectionist policies.

Ukraine Aid Divides the Party

International policy has further exposed divisions within the National Rally, particularly over support for Ukraine.

On BFM-TV on 4 September, Louis Aliot, the party’s vice-president and mayor of Perpignan, was asked about continuing military aid.

“We turn off the tap. The health system, the education system, the whole economy, everything has been cut to the bone, and yet we still find money to fund more weapons (…) I’m willing to accept that, but who pays for all this? You also have to know how to stop a war,” he said.

The remarks quickly prompted debate. On X, Édouard Philippe, the centre-right Horizons party’s candidate for 2027, accused the RN of supporting Vladimir Putin’s regime and argued that reducing aid to Ukraine would benefit Russia.

“Weakening Ukraine, as Marine Le Pen wants, means threatening the security of Europe and France. I will do everything to stop her,” he added.

Within the hour, Le Pen responded by reminding the former prime minister that he was in office when President Putin “received with great pomp at the Palace of Versailles and then at the Fort of Brégançon.” She also noted that Philippe had hosted Dmitry Medvedev, then Russia’s prime minister, at his home in Le Havre in June 2019.

National Rally Confronts Police Controversy

Midi Libre published a video on 8 September showing several Carcassonne municipal police officers making racist, sexist and conspiracy-related remarks during a night patrol. The footage was recorded in November 2025.

The officer leading the patrol, who made nearly 90% of the comments recorded that evening, is a former paratrooper and a volunteer with the National Rally’s internal security service.

He has accompanied Bardella on several trips, including during a promotional tour for the RN leader’s book and the launch of the party’s municipal election campaign.

The officer was expelled from the National Rally on Wednesday. Bardella condemned his remarks as “despicable.”

The Carcassonne public prosecutor’s office also ordered the suspension of the four municipal police officers shown in the video.

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