Far-right voters in France have always been men, but French women are now defying the norm ahead of a high-stakes election that might usher in France’s first far-right government in recent memory.
Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigrant National Rally is expected to win the most votes in a two-round snap election on June 30 and July 7, potentially crushing President Emmanuel Macron’s liberal centrists, and women are increasingly driving her party’s burgeoning political fortunes as it seeks to establish itself in the mainstream.
On EU election day this month, the National Rally won with a remarkable 31% of the French vote, up from 23% in the 2019 election.
According to Politico an election-day poll conducted by OpinionWay for the Les Echos daily, the most noticeable component of this shift to the far right was the number of female voters.
In 2019, 25 percent of men and 21 percent of women voted for National Rally, consistent with previous trends. This year, however, the study revealed that 33 percent of women voted for Le Pen’s far-right party, compared to 30 percent of males. Over five years, there has been a dramatic 12 percentage point increase in female voter turnout.
The reduction of the gender gap distinguishes the National Rally from anti-immigrant parties in other major EU countries.
France’s far right lawmakers
A June 9 exit poll in Germany found that the Alternative for Germany party earned 19% of male votes and 12% of female votes. According to the Demopolis Institute, in Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy earned 30.5 percent of male ballots and 27 percent of female votes.
This has not gone ignored by France’s far right lawmakers. Indeed, for years, the extreme right has attempted to position itself as a defender of women’s rights, combining the issue with its political campaigns against migrants and the perils of Islamism.
Jordan Bardella, the National Rally’s 28-year-old leader, rushed to social media this week to assure women that he would be a “prime minister who guarantees the rights and freedoms of every woman and girl in France.”
In a video, Bardella stated that his party supports advances in women’s rights, ranging from medical assistance to protection for women who have experienced domestic abuse. He also stated that he would deport “foreign delinquents and criminals” and impose stiffer penalties for abuse against women.
“No woman should ever have to fear going out into the streets of our country, whatever the time of day or night,” according to him.
His video aligns with the National Rally’s new political platform, which is aimed at “protecting French citizens who are concerned about their individual fragility,” according to Erwan Lestrohan, research director for Odoxa, a French polling firm.
Catch-all party
For National Rally voters, security “is profoundly interpreted as threats linked to immigration,” he said. “In fact, these two themes are interlocked.”
However, the party broadens the definition of “protection” to include not only security, but also health, employment, and living conditions – a broader range of issues that appeal to female voters, he added.
According to Bardella, the party has evolved from a far-right voting base to a “catch-all party” with widespread support.
Since taking over the party and representing it in presidential elections, Le Pen has also played a role, reaching the runoff in two of her three presidential campaigns and making considerable gains among female voters.
“What really drove Marine Le Pen’s electoral take-off was her success in attracting the female electorate,” said Nonna Mayer, a political scientist who studies France’s far right.
Mayer claimed that Le Pen’s father, former party leader and five-time presidential candidate in France, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was “rejected” by women due to his “sexist” and “boorish” attitude. “Once Marine Le Pen became the candidate, women started voting [for the National Rally] in the same proportions as men.”
Source: Politico