French President Emmanuel Macron is trying to gain ground over far-right leader Marine Le Pen, ahead of a possible duel in the 2022 elections, winning votes on the right, with a hard-spoken interior minister and a bill that represses Islamic radicals.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin visibly shocked Le Pen herself, surprised even his own party colleagues and dismayed the left with a comment accusing Le Pen of “mildness” about Islam during a debate late on Thursday.
In the meantime, a law that aims to suppress Islamic radicalism, which the government says will reinforce France’s secular system, but which critics see as an affront to religious freedom, will be voted on by the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Analysts said Macron, who came to power in 2017 as a centrist reformer, has visibly turned right in recent months as he realizes that his battle for the 2022 presidential re-election will boil down to a duel with leading Le Pen National Rally (RN).
The key to this change in direction was Darmanin, 38, a rising star from Macron’s right-wing party, who has taken a hard line since becoming Interior Minister last year.
Darmanin’s appointment came despite an ongoing investigation into a rape allegation, which he vehemently denies.
“You are starting to show smoothness, you need to take vitamins again. You are not ready to legislate on religion and you say Islam is not even a problem,” he told Le Pen in an apparent attempt to mock his attempt to create a more moderate image.
Looking stunned, Le Pen replied that she did not “intend to attack Islam” as a religion like any other “because I am deeply attached to our French values. I wish to maintain her … total freedom of worship”.
– Neck to neck for 2022 –
Legislation before parliament, which would make rules stricter on issues ranging from religious education to polygamy, is dubbed an anti-separatism bill, as ministers fear that Islamists are creating communities separate from the country’s strongly secular identity. France.
“Our country is sick with separatism, above all Islam, which is damaging our national unity,” Darmanin told parliament when he started debating the bill this month.
The matter was debated in a highly charged atmosphere in France, after three attacks last year by Islamic radicals, including the beheading in October of Professor Samuel Paty, who had shown his students animated cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Le Pen was easily defeated in the second round of 2017 by Macron, a result partly attributed to a poor performance in a televised debate against him.
In the following years, she sought to reshape the image of the anti-immigration and anti-Europe party, giving it a more youthful touch, changing its name from the National Front (FN) and distancing itself from the legacy of its founder, father Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Recent research has suggested a much tougher race this time, with Macron and Le Pen tied for the standings.
With the left still demoralized after François Hollande’s presidency, the only factor of uncertainty is the possible appearance of a figure on the right, but no clear candidate has emerged.
– ‘Unexpected gift’ –
The Le Monde daily described the exchange between Darmanin and Le Pen in the debate as “unprecedented”, adding that it was an “unexpected gift” for the far-right leader to have been portrayed as moderated by a minister without having to change his policies.
“Usually, the leader of the extreme right party is accused of being very radical, very intolerant and of speaking out against the values of the republic. Darmanin chose the opposite strategy, trying to be more firm than she was,” he said.
Prominent green politician Yannick Jadot, himself a possible candidate in 2022, described the debate on BFM TV as “impressive”, adding that he was frightened by the thought that “the government’s only claim to legitimacy is to be a stronghold of the far right. “.
A French government source, who asked not to be named, said Le Pen’s “softness” charge could weaken her within her own camp, but also risked “softening her radical image in the eyes of other voters” before 2022.
Macron’s supporter and Darmanin’s predecessor as Interior Minister, Christophe Castaner, told French radio that it should not be interpreted as a soft version. “I don’t think for a second that Gerald Darmanin shares (Marine Le Pen’s) convictions.”
are-tll-sjw / adp / mjs