Start of the RN election campaign: Le Pen speaks of the “rebirth” of France

Start of the RN election campaign Le Pen speaks of the “rebirth” of France As of: October 25, 2026 • 8:25 p.m

The right-wing populist French presidential candidate Le Pen is currently leading in the polls. At the start of her Rassemblement National's election campaign, she campaigned for a new political beginning.

In the first major speech of her presidential election campaign, right-wing populist politician Marine Le Pen called for a new political beginning for France. Under the motto of "Renaissance", she spoke out in front of the 8,500 delegates at the Rassemblement National (RN) party conference in Orléans, among other things, against immigration that is "flooding" French cities. She also wants to fight criminal organizations.

Le Pen said she wanted to give France back its "power, its greatness and its charisma", just as it was at the end of the Middle Ages. She was not proposing a return to the past, but rather the beginning of a new era.

Her speech was characterized by optimism and confidence. “We will protect public space so that it remains a place of life, serenity, and mutual respect,” Le Pen continued. Politeness is the safest way "to push back violence in our society," said Le Pen. "We will return to the French way of life that once made our country 'lovely France'."

After ten years under incumbent Emmanuel Macron, terms such as ruins, decline and unrest come to mind, said the 58-year-old. She wants to “restore the rule of law” and protect children and families. Foreign criminals should be deported automatically and consistently. With a view to increasing purchasing power for people, she wants to reduce energy taxes.

When it comes to pension policy, she called for young people to start working earlier. Le Pen also emphasized that she did not want to pit social issues against the economy, nor did she want to pit the right against the left. According to her, she resorted to a saying: "I am neither the right wing nor the left wing. I am the bird."

The RN politician is running for president for the fourth time. The elections will take place next spring. Surveys currently see her clearly in first place in the first round of voting, and she would also prevail against any other candidate in the runoff election.

Le Pen emphasized that she would resign as chairman of the RN group in the National Assembly the next day to underline that she was not running as a representative of a party.

An investigative portal makes serious allegations against RN party leader Jordan Bardella

The event was accompanied by protests. According to the prefecture, 3,000 security forces were deployed. During the speech by Le Pen's protégé Jordan Bardella, who she believes should become prime minister, there was unrest in the audience. The French Association of Jewish Students acknowledged this on Platform X. According to media research, Bardella is currently facing serious allegations of anti-Semitism.

Bardella primarily held out the prospect of a tough regulatory policy. “The government I will lead will use all means to restore order,” he said. "Police officers and gendarmes are society's most important protective shields," he emphasized against the backdrop of the recent violent riots on the sidelines of mass protests across the country.

Bardella announced that he wanted to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 16 years and create additional places in prisons. "Anyone who attacks a police officer will sleep in prison that same evening." Foreign criminals should be deported immediately and immigration should be reduced overall.

This topic in the program: The First | daily news | Oct 25, 2026 | 5:45 p.m