Marine Le Pen calls opponents ‘Islamo-Leftists’ and an ‘abomination’ for France

Marine Le Pen has accused France’s new Left-wing bloc of being “Islamo-Leftists” who want to strip the French of their freedoms.

Ms Le Pen, who leads the hard-Right National Rally, said that the New Popular Front, an alliance of Left-leaning parties formed in recent days, would be an “abomination for the country” as she went on the offensive in the election campaign.

Polls show voters in France are divided largely between the new Left and Right coalitions formed after Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party was heavily defeated by Ms Le Pen at the European elections.

In an interview with Le Figaro published on Sunday, Ms Le Pen said that defeating the Left bloc in the snap election called by Mr Macron was her “priority fight”.

While she characterised both Mr Macron and the Left alliance as “dangerous”, the New Popular Front  – composed of the Socialists, Greens, Communists and France Unbowed – poses a threat to freedom, she claimed.

“It is Islamo-Leftism which almost openly advocates the disappearance of all of our freedoms,” she said, revealing a flash of her more strident hard-Right views.

“The first of these being the freedom to be French and to benefit from it: the freedom to own, the freedom to demonstrate, the freedom of expression.

“They want the physical and moral disarmament of the police, and are for the overthrow of our constitutional and republican structure.”

Ms Le Pen’s attack came as new polling projects a tight race between the National Rally and the New Popular Front, with the far-Right party  on 32 per cent and its Left-wing rivals on 26 per cent.

The Elabe survey for BFM TV and La Tribune Dimanche found one in two French people worry about a possible victory for the National Rally, while 30 per cent would be satisfied, and 20 per cent indifferent.

In his analysis, Bernard Sananès, president of the Institut Elabe, said the results point to a  “relative victory in the de-vilification of the National Rally”.

After days of speculation, Ms Le Pen’s older sister Marie Caroline Le Pen also officially announced her candidacy on Sunday with a short announcement on X that read: “Let’s go for victory!”

The elder Ms Le Pen will run in the constituency of Sarthe, once the stronghold of François Fillon, the disgraced former prime minister of Nicolas Sarkozy.

Marine Le Pen also welcomed her estranged niece Marion Maréchal back to the family fold last week. The 34-year-old newly elected MEP called on her supporters to vote for her aunt’s party, rather than the far-Right Reconquest party. She was promptly kicked out of Reconquest for “treason”.

After Mr Macron called the election following the RN’s resounding victory at the European elections on June 9, both sides of the political spectrum have been scrambling to cobble together alliances and candidates.

On Sunday, a controversial and divisive figure of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed party, Adrien Quatennens, who was convicted of domestic violence in 2022, announced that he would withdraw his candidacy, at a time “when all energy must be used to beat the extreme Right.”

On Saturday, François Hollande, the former president, who left office with record levels of unpopularity, announced plans to run as MP for the southwestern Corrèze department for the Left coalition, calling his political comeback “an exceptional decision for an exceptional situation”.

The snap elections have also brought back Olivier Véran, the former health minister, who confirmed on Sunday that he would be running in the constituency of Isère as part of the Renaissance party.

“The prospect of seeing the far Right come to power urges us to go beyond party logic,” Mr Veran, a neurologist, wrote. “I will put all my energy into the service of the territory and its inhabitants.”

Also on Sunday, Eric Ciotti, the Republican Party leader who caused a political storm among the ranks of conservative members after announcing an alliance with the RN last week, reiterated his desire to “unite” the Right.

“Without any sectarianism or rancour, everyone is and will be welcome whatever the attitudes and positions held this week,” he told the Journal du Dimanche.

“Our alliance with Jordan Bardella and the National Rally marks the renewal of a true popular alliance, at a critical moment when it is still possible to save the country from decline. France could disappear under a far-Left authoritarian regime.”

France superstar and captain Kylian Mbappe on Sunday declared himself “against extremes and divisive ideas” when asked about the upcoming elections.

The striker defended comments made on Saturday by his teammate Marcus Thuram, saying he “had not gone too far” in calling on the country “to fight every day to stop” the far-right National Rally (RN) winning the elections.